/ ' 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENhALOGICAL 

HISTORY 



OF 



Appanoose and Monroe . 
Counties, Iowa. 



Compiled under the Editorial Supervision of 

S.THOMPSON LEWIS. 



ILLUSTRATED. 



New York Chicago 

The Lewis publishing Company 

1903 






S 3 M i ■ 



U 



^')^35 



INDEX. 



Abegglen. John. 621. 
.Adams, Hugh Q.. 57.?. 
.Ankrom. Eli.. 13S. 

Il.iiley. -A. J. G., I54- 
I lain, .Alexander, 239. 
I'.aird, .Asa, 149. 
I'.aird. Asa S.. 96. 
Baker, Henry H., 431. 
Hall, Joseph D.. 147. 
liarkley, James R., 203. 
Harrows, James C. 323. 
I'artram, Robert 'I'., 171. 
I'.ashavv, Joseph W., 413. 
Hell. Samuel N., 581. 
I'.ernard, William, 252. 
Hillings, Levi, 108. 
I '.land, Joseph, 43S. 
Hoardnian, John S., 362. 
I'loggs, Clendennen. 242. 
Hridal, John C. 315. 
Hrnckus. Thomas S.. 1S4. 
Hrolhers. William, 572, 
Hroucr. Chancellor J.. 434. 

Callioun. James A., 576. 
Calhoun. W. F., 378. 
Callen, W. A., 604. 
Carhartt, John E., 278. 
Carlton, Lavvson B., 122. 
Casady, Andrew J., 288. 
Caslnor. Bertrand P., 183. 
Castncr, James M.. 346. 
Cate, H. C. 77- 



Chamberlain. John, 344. 
Chidester, Emery. 566. 
Chidester, H. M.. 99- 
Chidesier. Samuel F., 103. 
Chisnian. Luther, 544. 
Clark, John R.. 57.S. 
Clark, O. S., 593- 
Claver, James W., 255. 
Clawson, Charles, 590. 
Cleveland, J. D., 600. 
Condra. Jacob, 591. 
Coulson. R. S.. ,367. 
Cox, Daniel M.. 28. 
Cramer, George P., 284. 
Crawshaw, Adam, 614. 
Creech, James AL, 50. 
Crist, John G., 444. 
Cummins, Rufus E., 547. 

Daniels, Warren T., 26. 
Daniels, William. 187. 
Darby, William P... 34. 
Davis, Ralph M.. 531. 
Davis, William P., 412. 
Dean, George W., 135. 
DeRoss, Conrad, 105. 
Dinning, David, 474. 
Dinning, Robert W., 498. 
Doggett, J. R., .370. 
Donegan. Wesley, 194. 
Doner, John, 328. 
Downing, William L.. 186. 
Drake, Francis 1\L, Ti. 
Drury, James, S3. 



INDEX. 



Edwards, Malison S., 3J; 
Kdwards, William, XM- 
Egbert, A. J., 22. 
Elder, Saniiicl, 246. 
Elledgc, Edward K., 214. 
Elliott, George C, 395. 
Ellis, William AI., 470. 
Eschbach, H. C.,- 167. 
Everett, Fred D., 172. 

Fee, Thomas M., 40. 
Forrest, C. M., 229. 
Forsytli, Robert C, 471. 
Foster, Thomas, 248. 
Fowler, Immer, 503. 

Gaiilt, Edward J., 398. 
(iaiilt, Henry, 407. 
(Gilbert, J. W., 162. 
(ilick, Daniel. 373. 
Guss, Joseph, 62. 
(Jray, William IL, 216. 
(jrecnlv. EmamicI II, 60. 



1 lust. in, William, 151. 
Hyncs, P. H., 33^. 

Jackson, Calvin R., 454. 
James, C. S., 212. 
James. Stephen, 212. 
Jennings, Edward T., 445. 
Johnson. Robert K., 72. 
Jones, Jerry, 145. 

Kendall, N. E., 521. 
Kenworthy, David W.. 66. 
Kenworthy, D. C, 541. 
Killion. Thomas W., 568. 
King, S. M., 517. 
Kingsberry, Robert, 448. 
Kingsbury, .\rmilda J., 446. 
Kinser, W. D., 75. 
Kirchman, Hcririan L., 387. 
Kirchnian, William, 387. 
Knapp, Melvin. 512. 
Knapp, W. A.. i6.(. 
Knowels. Jnlm. 354. 



1 lagan, James, 453. 
Hakes. Carrie A.. 478. 
Halden, J. W., 166. 
Hammond, Henry J.. 510. 
Harbold, Lincoln. 244. 
Hardenbrook. William K., 313. 
Haynes. E. C, 409. 
Hazlewood, George C, 55S. 
Hibbs, James, 360. 
i lickenlooper. Harrison, 158. 
Hickenlooper, Thomas, 181. 
HicKnian, Solomon G., 32. 
Hilton, Albert, 290. 
Hinotc. John A., 208. 
Hi.xson, Samuel, 462. 
Hoaglaud. James S.. 509. 
Hoffman, San ford, 130. 
Holbrook, Solomon, 429. 
llnlstcine, James A., 92. 
Hoover. Charles G., 169. 
1 lough. 'Thomas W., 30. 



I.atlian. W. J.. 119. 
Law, tJ. II., 392. 
Lawlon. Obadiah, 436. 
Leseney. James V., 506. 
Lewis, Clarence W., 456. 
Long. Jacob G., 125. 
Lusc, Jackson. 132. 

Marine. Joseph, 598. 
Marshall. Charles M.. 534. 
Martin. David J., 176. 
Mason, Allen A., 516. 
.Mason. C. V., 156. 
May, John H., 67. 
McCloud, George W., 464. 
McCloud, Nathaniel, 349. 
.McCormick, George C, 594. 
McDonald. John C, 418. 
McDonald, 'Thomas H., 342. 
McDonald. Wilber S.. 425. 



ixdp:x. 



McDonald, William P... 41)4. 

McElhaney. Joseph C, 35S. 

.McFall. John N.. .?Ji. 

McFarland, John, .^go. 

.McKeehan, George \V., 502. 

.\IcKim, John D., 5S. 

.Mercer. William, 267. 

.Miller, Amos F., 25J. 
Miller, B. G., 47. 
Miller, Henry, 24. 
Mitchell, Albert, 500. 
Mitchell, Hance, 499. 
Moss, John .A., 142. 
.Moss. John W., 227. 



Xewell. Samuel A., 282 
Noble, Edg.ir M., 522. 
Noble, Ira, 257. 



Oehler, Paul C, 90. 



Parker Livingston G.. 5S2 

Parks. James F.. .^97. 

Palton, Thomas S.. j.'^o. 

Payne. Frank S.. .?S<). 

Peatman, William .\1.. 144. 

Pence. Francis S., 204. 

Peppers, Lemonl .\,. 5(11. 

Phillips, H. H., 224.' 

Phillips, John C, 540. 
Porter, Claude R., 366. 
Porter, George D., 365. 
Potts, .-Vsbury W.. 44. 
Powers, Henry P., 201. 
Price, John R., 519, 
Printz. Edward T., 274. 
Probasco, Emery M., 411. 
Pugh, David. 459. 
Pulliam, George T.. 538. ■ 
Pnlliam, Thomas, 619. 



Ralston, John, 615. 
Reich, The Fainily, 199. 



Richardson. .\. J., 483. 
Richardson, Fares, 112. 
Richmond. Leviticus T., 523. 
Richmond, bamnel. 5.36. 
Roberts, Nathan. 69. 
Robertson, Joseph H., 524, 
Robeson, J. C, 520. 
Robinson, George W., 86. 



Sawyers, C. E., 605. 

Sawyers, John L., 415. 

Sayres, .Arlington M., 493. 

Sayres, (/scar H., 492. 

Sayres. William, 489. 

Scott, Albert R., 484. 

Scott, David H.. 310. 

Seddon, James A., 466. 

Sellers, Moses Y., 336. 

Shahan, John W., 562, 

Sholly, Jacob, 2.37. 

Sinclair, Archibald, 127. 
Smith, William, 94. 
Snodgrass, Jesse, 270. 
Snow, Herman, 550. 
Spencer, R. A., 602. 
Spencer. Wellington. 511. 
Slark. David T.. 298." 
Slauber, Charles, 307. 
Steel, David. 588. 
Stephens, William, 53. 
Stevens, James H., 479. 
Stevenson, Blair, 383. 
Stevenson, Charles H., 606. 
Stevenson, William 11., 42O. 
Stickney, William C, [74. 
Stone, James L., 451. 
Stone, John J., 487. 
Streepy, George W.. 526. 
Sturdivant, John M.. 424. 
Slnrdi\'anl. John .M., 440. 
Sulcliffe, John S., 612. 
Sutton, Jonas, 384. 
Swan. Jesse A., 461. 
Swarts, C. v., 193. 
Swans, William P., 191. 



INDEX. 



Taylo.-, Lew is L... 230. 

Taylor. William J.. lOo. 

i'aylor. W. Parker. 320. 
'IVimlile. Isaac N., 556. 
'ruckiT, A. R., &). 

rmtlc. Knlvri \V.. .'();. 

I yrrri, Sidiuy I'".. 1 17. 

\'aniH'h. J. N'.. 5.50. 
Vermilinn. C. W.. 57. 
\'cniiiii(.i!, William I-".. 56. 

Waik-s. Janus W.. .?7. 



W'ailes. Josiali .S.. 486. 
Wakefield. Elizabeth. 449. 
Wallace, Thomas, ,140. 
Watson, .-Mexander C, 261. 
Watson, Jaities K., 273. 
Wells. Francis M., 437. 
White, James .\., 18. 
Wilcox, William, 617. 
Wilkinson, Hngh E., 376. 
Wilson, James. 403. 
Wilson, James M.. 405. 
Wilson, John G.. .'joa. 
Wolfinger. James, 468. 
Wright. Henry H., 303. 



■•■> 




FRANCIS H. DRAKE. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL 
HISTORY 

OF 

APPANOOSE AND MONROE COUNTIES, IOWA. 



FRANCIS MARION DRAKE. 

It is a great truth that some must follow and some command. But 
the pages of history must ever be filled with the achievements and char- 
acter of those who command, who are able to direct the power of the 
hosts and bring victory to the cause of progress. And it is here fitting, 
in a work purporting to give an account of the lives of those who have 
aided in making the state of Iowa one of the banner states of the 
Union, to give a prominent place to the life and career of ex-Governor 
Drake. No fulsome tributes of praise will be here attempted, and none 
are needed; his deeds speak for themselves. As a business man, as a 
soldier, as a statesman, as the highest executive officer of his state, as 
the founder of a great university, and, above all, as the exponent of true, 
noble Christian manhood, he deserves to take rank among the leaders of 
men and makers of history. 

Going back to the early forefathers of the subject of this biog- 
raphy, we find that the great-grandfather was James Drake, a native 
of the colony of Virginia, who afterwards settled in Swift Creek, Nash 



12 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

county, North Carolina, where he accumulated a large amount of prop- 
erty, and died in the year 1790. He was the father of Benjamin, who 
married Celia Thayer and became the parent of John Adams Drake. 
John Adams Drake was born on the homestead which his grandfather 
had established in Xorth Carolina, on October 21, 1802. He was one 
of eight children, of English ancestry, and early manifested his heri- 
tage of noble ancestral qualities. After receiving a fair education in 
the primitive school of the time and growing up to manhood under 
the care of his excellent parents, he married, on June 12, 1826, Harriet 
Jane O'Neal, a native of Franklin county, that state, and the daughter 
of sturdy Irish parents ; fourteen children were born of this union. 
In 1829 they left the Old North state and moved to Wilson county, 
Tennessee, and in October, 1830. became pioneer settlers of Rushville, 
Illinois. In this latter place he engaged in mercantile pursuits and 
prospered. In 1837 the family moved to Fort Madison, which was then 
in the territory of Wisconsin, as the territory of Iowa had not yet 
been organized. Here he resided nine years, and during nearly all 
the time held the office of justice of the peace and county probate judge. 
In March, 1846, he took up his residence in Davis county, Iowa, where 
he founded the town of Drakeville, and later engaged in agricultural 
pursuits; he also established a bank in Drakeville, which he conducted 
for several years. He was then induced by his son, the subject of this 
sketch, to move to Centerville and become the president of the Appa- 
noose County State Bank, which the latter had organized there, and for 
the last few years of his life he held this position. His long and useful 
life came to an end in 1880, and five years later his wife passed away. 
Their wedded life covered a period of nearly fifty-four years and was 
one of happiness and fruitfulness. They were earnest and consistent 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORV. \-'> 

members of tlie Christian church. He was a piuucer in tlie history of 
that cluirch body and was a persona! friend of Alexander Camiiliell. 

With such a parental heritage and in such surroundings was the 
son Francis Marion reared. He was early taught the lessons of moral 
worth and integrity and industry and Christian duty which lia\e char- 
acterized his whole life. Born in the village of Rushville, Schuyler 
county, Illinois, December 30, 1830, he received such education as could 
be obtained in the public schools of Fort Madison and Drakeville, oli- 
taining the greater portion at the former place. Caught by the "gold 
fever" of the early fifties, he organized a train to cross the plains to 
the new Eldorado. In the company were six wagons, each drawn by 
six oxen, and sixteen men and one boy. They crossed the Missouri 
river at Council Bluffs on May i. 1852, and at Horseshoe I'.eud. near 
the Platte river, they were attacked by about three hundred Pawnee 
Indians. In the conflict young Drake singled out the chief of the 1)aud 
and killed him with a blow of his musket, which so demoralized the rest 
that they retreated, leaving nine of their number dead on the field. On 
reaching Sacramento, Mr. Drake engaged in the stock business, but the 
next year returned to the States by sea. In 1S54 he set out across the 
plains with a drove of one hundred milch cows and arrixed at his desti- 
nation with ninety-seven of them. On the return trip he took passage 
on the Yankee Blade, and the vessel was wrecked off Point .\quilla. 
Mexico, resulting in the loss of eight hundred lives. Securing a small 
boat, Mr. Drake made two trips to the shore with fellow passengers. 
On the last trip he was in some way thrown into the sea and was at 
first refused passage in the crowded boat, but, on l)eing recognized as 
the one who had furnished the boat, he was taken on board, half dead 
from exhaustion and struggling with the waves. For several days 



U BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

the survivors crouched on the barren shore, living on raw meat, but 
were finally rescued by the steamer Goliah and carried to San Francisco. 
From here he took passage on the Golden Gate, and another chapter 
of adventure was added to his eventful history. A fire broke out in 
the kitchen of the vessel, but by the prompt action of Mr. Drake was 
extinguished without permitting the alarm to be spread to the rest of the 
ship, thus averting what might have been a disastrous panic. Upon 
his return to Iowa he engaged in business with his father and brothers 
at Drake\ille, and in 1859 removed to Unionville, Appanoose county, 
where he went into the mercantile business. 

When the Civil war cloud broke and threatened all interests, Mr. 
Drake raised a company for the Second Iowa Infantry, but was tod 
late. As the company had been furnished with arms, however, he con- 
tinued to drill it during the summer, and in the fall of 1861, when the 
Confederate General Patton drove a regiment of loyal Union troops 
out of Missouri and threatened lower Iowa. Captain Drake's company 
was made part of an independent regiment, of which John Edwards, 
then speaker of the House of Representatives of Iowa, was made 
colonel. After being made major. Mr. Drake started for Albany and 
drove General Patton across the Platte river near St. Joseph, Missouri, 
but was hindered from further pursuit by the burning of the bridge. 
Major Drake then reported to General Prentiss, who placed him in 
command of the garrison at St. Joseph, which consisted of half of his 
own regiment, some Kansas cavalry and a battalion of Ohio infantry. 
After the fall of Lexington Price's army advanced westward, but was 
met with such vigorous resistance from Major Drake, who had antici- 
pated an attack on St. Joseph and had gone forth to meet him, that 
he believed there was a large Union force in the neighborhood and 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 15 

withdrew. Returning home, tlie Major was not in active service until 
August of 1S62, when he was commissioned by Go\ernor Kirkwood 
lieutenant colonel of the Thirty-sixth Iowa Infantry, four companies of 
which regiment were raised in Appanoose county. He served in the 
Army of the Tennessee and later with the troops in Arkansas. At the 
battle of Elkin's Ford in April, 1864, he commanded a detachment of 
three companies of his own regiment, three of an Indiana regiment, 
four of the First Iowa Cavalry and two pieces of light artillery, and 
repulsed and inflicted fearful slaughter upon Marmaduke's division, 
three thousand strong. A few weeks later, with a brigade consisting 
of three regiments of twelve hundred men and two sections of a battery, 
he fought at Mark's Mills a force of six times that number, commanded 
by Fagan. From early morn till noon the conflict went on, and at last 
the Union forces were compelled to surrender. Lieutenant Colonel 
Drake was severely and, it was supposed, mortally wounded, and was 
left on the field by the enemy. As the enemy believed he would not 
recover, he was paroled, and six months later rejoined his regiment, 
although he was compelled to use crutches. Before leaving the service 
he was honored with the brevet commission of brigadier general. 

A short time after the close of the war Mr. Drake entered upon 
the practice of law at Centerville, Iowa, and continued it with very 
gratifying success for several years. With his progressive business 
insight, he realized the necessity for railroads to develop the resources 
of the country, and, organizing a company, he built what is now the 
Keokuk and Western from Keokuk, Iowa, via Alexandria, Missouri, 
to Centerville, in 1872, and in 1880 extended the line to Van Wert. He 
also built the Albia and Centerville road, several branches of the Iowa 
Central, and the Indiana, Illinois and Iowa, familiarly known as the 



16 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GEXEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

"Three I" road. Of tlie latter he remained president until i8y8. when 
he sold his interest and retired. Not only in his railroad enterprises 
but in everything he has undertaken Mr. Drake has met with unqualified 
success. He is president of the Centerville National Bank, the First 
National Bank and the Farmers' and Miners' Savings Bank of Albia. 
Iowa. He still retains the presidency of the Centerville and .\lbia 
Railroad, which, however, does not operate its road, but leases it to 
another company. 

In public life Mr. Drake has a brilliant record, and he has con- 
ducted the affairs of state with the same fearlessness and integrity that 
have characterized his other actions. In 1893 ^^ was persuaded to go 
before the Republican state convention as a candidate for nomination 
to the office of governor. He was not nominated, but two years later 
the convention tendered him the nomination, and in the fall of 1895 he 
was elected by a large majority. He entered upon the duties of that 
office in January, 1896, and discharged them in a manner consistent 
with his high character and independence. Soon after his entrance to 
the office a report was presented to the general assembly from a com- 
mission which had been appointed to revise the state laws. Upon due 
consideration, it appeared that the regular session of the legislature did 
not afford a favorable opportunity for the revision, and, upon his sug- 
gestion, which was approved by a majority of both houses. Governor 
Drake called a special session of the assembly to revise the state statutes. 
This he did in the face of considerable opposition, but he remained 
firm in his convictions. The superior code of laws adopted and put in 
operation gave general satisfaction to the people and fully justified his 
decisive action. Governor Drake also tried, unsuccessfully, to intro- 
duce the wise and businesslike practice of insuring the public property 






BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 17 

of the state. Since then the heavy losses caused by fire in the pubhc 
buildings have amply justified his policy. His was throughout a busi- 
ness administration, and it is now so appreciated by the people. In 
the summer of 1897 Mr. Drake sustained a severe injury from a fall, 
which threatened to open anew his old battle wounds, and this, together 
with a chronic ailment which had impaired his health for years, deter- 
mined him to lay down the duties of his high office and care for his 
failing strength. He accordingly declined to be his party's candidate 
for a second term, and retired from office in January, 1898. He first 
presented to the assembly, as was his duty, an able and exhaustive mes- 
sage, which was marked for its many statesmanlike recommendations 
as to the affairs of the state. 

After retiring from the office of governor, Mr. Drake returned 
to his home in Centerville, and has since lived in the quiet and restful- 
ness of private life, surrounded by his loving family and by his hosts 
of devoted friends. His marriage had occurred in 1855 to Mary Jane 
Lord, and six children have been reared by them to manhood and 
womanhood: Frank Ellsworth, of Chicago; John Adams, of Chicago; 
Amelia, now Mrs. Theodore P. Shouts, of Chicago; Eva, who is Mrs. 
Henry Goss, of Centerville: Jennie, the wife of John L. Sawyers, ()f 
Centei-yille : and Mary, Mrs. GecM-ge \\'. Sturdivant, of Centerville. 

Of late years Mr. Drake has devoted much of his time and means 
to the promotion of the cause of educatii:)i; and the upbuilding of insti- 
tutions of learning. He is especially interested in the university at 
Des Moines which bears his name, of which he was the founder and 
its most liberal supporter. He has also been very generous in his con- 
tributions to other schocils and churclies. lie has done much to build 
up the Christian denomination, although he is liberal in his donations 



18 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

to otlier faiths. Only recently he was most generous in his gifts for 
the erection of a beautiful edifice of his denomination in Centerville, and 
it was through his munificence that the Drake Free Public Library was 
built in Centerville, an imposing and modern structure, which is an 
ornament to the city. 

Such is a very brief outline of the life of a soldier, statesman and 
public-spirited citizen, who does not need the annals of history to record 
his good works, for his deeds have found a permanent abiding place 
in the memories of those whom he has helped by his example, influence 
and efforts to higher and nobler living. 



JAMES A. WHITE. 

Among the well and favorably known men of Iowa is J. A. White, 
tourist, lecturer and successful financier, of Centerville. Mr. White 
comes of an honorable and respected ancestry. His paternal grand- 
father was a soldier of the Revolutionary war, in which he distinguished 
himself as a brave and gallant fighter for the cause of independence. 
He was residing in Indiana when he was called away by the summons 
of death, being ninety-two years of age. The parents of our subject 
were John and Jane (Pearman) White, who were born in Kentucky, 
but were taken at an early age by their parents to Indiana, who settled 
in Vermilion county, in the valley ui the Wabash. I'or twelve years 
after their marriage they resided in that state, but in 1849 removed to 
Iowa and settled near Centerville. Here the father continued in agri- 
cultural pursuits until his death, which occurred when he had passed 
the sixtieth milestone of life's journey. The mother still lives, being 
in her eighty-third year, and resides in Moulton. Early in life they 




JAMES A. WHITE. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 21 

both joined the Metliodist Episcopal Churcli. and in tliat faith tiiey 
lived and reared their eleven children, six of whom are now deceased. 

James A. White was horn in a priniitix'c h>g house on a farm in the 
vicinity of Centerville, on December 30, 1849. The fact that it was 
the year of the discovery of gold in California is the little superstition 
Mr. White allows himself to believe to account for his success in 
finance. He was reared on the farm and there learned the lessons of 
industry, perseverance and integrity that have marked his career. His 
education was obtained in the common schools, but he later in life 
attended the Oskaloosa (Iowa) Coimnercial College, graduating in 
1879. In 1870 he married Miss Elzina Wood, a native of Iowa and a 
lady of accomplishment and culture. Immediately after his marriage 
he settled on a farm and for nine years was engaged in this pursuit 
with gratifying success. But his business qualifications prompted him 
to turn from the farm to the more active career of business. Disposing 
of his personal property, he first removed to Corydon, Iowa, where he 
engaged in banking and real estate for eight years, and in 1887 came 
to Centerville in order to get into a large trade center. Here he has 
met with unqualified success. He is the owner of consideraljle and 
valuable real estate in the city and in Appanoose and W^ayne counties 
and in the state of Kansas. He has constructed several excellent busi- 
ness blocks in the city, which stand as a monument to his thrift and 
ability. As a financier he stands second to none, and his reputation has 
extended far beyond the borders of his county, and he is rated as one 
of the ablest business men in the community. In the study of his busi- 
ness career it is evident that his success has been the result of doing one 
thing at a time and persevering in this until it was accomplished. He 
is fair and just in his dealings, and, though exacting, he is reasonable 



2>2 BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

in his practices, being liberal in liis compensation of labor. Mr. White 
is possessed of a studions and analytical mind; he has traveled exten- 
sively in the United States, Canada. British Columbia, Cuba and Old 
Mexico, and he has delivered several interesting and well received 
lectures relative to his travels. He now has in contemplation a trip 
through Europe. 

In the faith of the Methodist Episcopal church Mr. White was 
reared, and his religious practices indicate that with the lapse of time 
he grows stronger in the faith, and, while he has accomplished much 
in life, he is not unmindful that to a Higher Being l>elongs the credit 
for his achievements. In matters political he has always been a stanch 
Rei)ublican. In 1896 he was a prominent candidate for the nomination 
to the high office of governor of the state, and has since been frequently 
mentioned as an available candidate for that place. It is generally 
recognized that, were he elected to the executive chair, he would admin- 
ister the affairs of state along progressive business lines and with the 
same skill that he has manifested in his own affairs. I'raternally Mr. 
White is prominent in the Modern Woodmen and the Knights of 
Pythias orders ; in the latter he has held various offices in both the local 
and grand lodges. He is respected and esteemed as a citizen of pro- 
gressiveness and enterprise in matters of city, county and state, and he 
numbers manv in his list of friends. 



A. J. EGBERT. 

Monroe county, Iowa, has many estimable citizens within her 
borders, and among those who deserve some particular mention in the 
history of that countv is .\. T- Egbert, an old settler and prominent 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 23 

farmer of Jackson township. His fatlier, Uriah Egbert, was born in 
the State of New Jersey, and his mother, Susan (WilHams) Egbert, 
was a native of Pennsxlvania. Tlie parents of Uriah brougiit him to 
Pennsylvania when he was a child, and in that state he grew up and 
was married. He and his wife moxed to Ohio and remained there the 
rest of their lives. They became the parents of thirteen children : 
Mary, Jeremiah, John, Sarah, Thomas, Eliza, Nancy, Jacob, Jesse, 

A. J., Susan, Percilla and Uriah. This large family and its descend- 
ants are now living in different parts of the Union, filling many posi- 
tions in the various walks of life. 

A. J. Egbert, the tenth child, was born in Seneca county, Ohio, 
December 13, 1834. He remained in the county of his birth, attended 
the common scho<:ils and was trained to know the value of hard work. 
In the fall of 1856 he came to Iowa and spent one winter in Iowa City, 
but the following spring he came to Monroe county and bought one 
hundred and twenty acres of government land. He set himself to the 
improvement of this and has since added to his property, until he now 
owns one hundred and sixty acres of fine land. Almost at the first call 
for volunteers in the Civil war he enlisted, July 17, 1861, in Company 

B, Sixth Iowa Volunteer Infantry. He was mustered in at Burlington 
and was soon ordered to the scene of action. He endured much of the 
rigor of war, both in the field and in the camp, and among the battles in 
which he took part were Pittsburg Landing, Shiloh, Kenesaw Moun- 
tain; in the last named place he was wounded by a musket ball and 
disabled for two months. He was mustered out at Louisville, Ken- 
tucky, and discharged at Davenport, Iowa, August 21, 1865, having 
served four years and four days. His army record was one of which 



24 BIOGRAPHICAL A.\D CEXEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

he mav well lie proud, and few can boast of a more faithful term of 
service. 

On Mav 21. 1873. Mr. Egbert was united in marriage to Mary S. 
Hittle, who was born in Lovilia, Monroe county. Her father, Jacob 
Hittle, who was a native of Ohio, and her mother. Huldah (Amber) 
Hittle. came to Iowa at an earl\- day and located in Monroe county, 
where the mother died, but the father is still living. Twelve children 
were liorn to Mr. and Mrs. Egbert, and all are living : Jesse S., Electa 
S.. Andrew J., Edward, Grace. Clara, Elvin. Ira, Harrison, Estella, 
Mary and Ilulda. These children were all born in Monroe county. 
Mr. Egbert has ever l^een a stanch supporter of the principles of the 
Rejuiblican party. He was reared in the Methodist faith, and his wife 
is a member of the Methodist church of Melrose. Iowa. 



HEXRY MILLER. 

Henry Miller, who has departed this life but is yet remembered 
by the citizens of Albia as a man of genuine worth, was born in Union 
county. Indiana, September 22, 1828. His father, Daniel Miller, was 
one of the substantial and prominent men of that county. He was also 
a minister of the German Bapti.st church, and did much good work for 
the cause of Christianity during the years of his active pastoral labors. 
He resided in Indiana until the latter part of the fifties, when he came 
with his family to Iowa, settling in Monroe county. 

Henry Miller, however, did not remove to this state until several 
years later, at which time lie also became a resident of Monroe county. 
He had been reared in Indiana, obtaining a common school education 
there, and on October 31, 1850, he was united in luarriage to Miss 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. '25 

Susannah Kingery, a nati\e of Union county, tliat state. Ixirn July 
i8, 1828. She was the yoimgest of fi\e children, and when lint sc\en 
years of age was left an orphan. B_\- her marriage she hccanic the 
mother of the following named : Kiley. ^hjnroe. Willie and Anna, all 
deceased; Maria, Emma and T^-ances. who are li\ing. Of the sur- 
viving memlicrs of the family Maria is the only one unmarried, and 
she makes her home with her mntlier. 

At the time of the Ci\il war ]lenr_\- Miller's sxnipathies were en- 
listed with the Union cause, and with interest he watched the prcjgrcss 
of hostilities. In 1864, at what was jirolialjly the darkest pcrind of 
our country's history, he felt that his first duty was to the government. 
and he ofYered his services to the country, remaining at the fnmt until 
the close of the war, when he was mustered out. Meritorious conduct 
upon the field of battle had won him promotion to the rank of lieuten- 
ant, and he returned home with a most creditable military record. 
.\fter the war he joined the Grand .\rmy of the Republic ami thus main- 
tained [ileasant relations with his old army comrades, with whom he 
deligiited to meet and rehearse the experiences and stories of camp life. 
He was also at one time a member of the Masonic fraternity and of 
the Odd h'ellows society, liut deniittcd from both organizations prior 
to his death. 

In early life Mr. Miller ga\X' his time and attention to farm work, 
which he carried on until he had acquired a go<nI competency. He 
then abandoned the jjIow in order to become a factor in commercial 
circles, investing his money in mercantile enter])rises. Still later he 
engaged in the stock business and in tiie closing years of his life was 
a coal ojierator. Whatever he undertook be carricil forward to suc- 
cessful com|)lelion. for he was a man of strong purpose and determined 



26 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

will, and, moreover, his business methods were honorable and straight- 
forward, lie passed away February 19. 1890. respected by all who 
knew him, and in Albia, where he made his home for many years, there 
are many friends who still mourn his loss. His widow and daughter 
Maria are yet residents of this city and are widely and favorably known. 

W.\RREN TAYLOR DANIELS. 

Anyone who will call at the farm residence to which mail for the 
above named gentleman is directed, near Moulton, in Appanoose 
county, Iowa, may realize what is meant Iw the expression "up-to-date 
farming." It is situated in the beautiful prairie country for which Iowa 
has long been noted, and is part nf the land which produces those enor- 
mous crops of corn whose figures in millions of bushels astonish the 
world. The \-isitor will notice in front of the house a metal box marked 
"U. .S. Mail," which means that the occupants of the place enjoy free 
rural mail delivery, that recent luxurious device of advanced civili/cation. 
Going inside, he will soon discover that Mr. Daniels, the hospitalile 
owner, has telephone connection with Moulton, where most of his busi- 
ness is transacted. lie can also talk to all other important places in the 
county and state ; in other words, he can attend to all his foreign busi- 
ness without going out of the house, and meantime enjoy reading the 
morning papers brought to his door by obliging "Uncle Sam." 

Such is a model farmer out in Iowa, and ^^'arren Taylor Daniels 
is one of them. He was born in Jackson county, Ohio, September 23, 
1856. and is a son of \A'illiam and Mary Jane Daniels, who are spoken 
of in detail in another part of this volume. A\'arren grew up in his 
native countv, attended the schools, and, like (.ithcr bovs, wondered in 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. I'T 

his impatience it lie would never become a man. At ieui^lh the time 
came when he was free, antl his first venture in the world of business 
was as a farmer and stock raiser. When twenty-three years old he 
embarked in the retail charcoal trade, but only continued this a _\ear. 
and some ten _\ears later tried an investment in the lumber business. 
This, too. he sckmi disposed of. and in 1891 emigrated to Iowa and 
settled at Moulton. in Appanoose county. He resumed the lumber busi- 
ness at this place, owning a sawmill on Sheridan river, four miles from 
town, and prosecuted it energetical!}' for five years after his arri\al. 
P'ventually he sold all his interests in I\biulton and moved to the farm 
which is menti<.ined at the Ijeginning of this sketch. It consists of one 
hundred and eighty acres of good farming land, with all the necessary 
impro\ements and conveniences, where he is engaged in raising and 
feeding stock, and in addition to this Mr. Daniels owns a residence 
and six building lots in Moulton. 

On November 30, 1881, Mr. Daniels was married to Miss EHza, 
daughter of James and Jane (Money) Craig, both natives of Ireland, 
who came to the United States in 1846. They resided in Massacbu.setts 
for thirteen years after reaching the United States, and then removed 
to Gallia county. Ohio, where the mother died in 1889. but her husband 
is still living in the last named state. Mr. and Mrs. Daniels have four 
children, whose names are Lizzie Jane. Craig E.. Emma M. and Ward 
T. The parents are members of the Methcxlist E])iscopal church, and 
Mr. Daniels is connected with the Odd Fellows. Daughters of Rcbekah. 
Red Men and Knights of Laljor. There are few more comfoi-table 
homes than that occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Daniels, and the hospitable 
greeting always extended makes it a pleasure to many friends to 
assemble around their cheerful hearthstone. 



28 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GEXEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

DAXIliL M. COX. 

Coming from old Virginia before the war. "skirmishing" for ex- 
istence in various i)laces, and finally coming to Iowa for wliat proved 
to be a permanent residence, the gentleman whose name is above given 
has had his full share of the ups and downs of life. As long as he had 
good health. Mr. Cox gave no odds to anybody, as he was industrious 
and could hold his own with the l^est of them. But he met with a 
severe accident a few years ago. which totally disabled him for manual 
labor and placed him in the in\alid corps. Though thus dqirived of his 
usual means of li\elihood, Mr. Cox set his brain to work, and by use 
of his ingenious inventive faculties evolved a number of useful ma- 
chines which promise in time to )iel(l rich results. Such a man as this 
is well worthy of notice and a place in any history devoted to the repre- 
sentative men of his section, and no apology is needed for the follow- 
ing outline of his life: 

Daniel M. Cox is a son of Carlos and Maria L. Cox. both natives 
of one of the most noted of the old colonial counties of Virginia. 
Carlos was a farmer and struggled with a large family to make both 
ends meet on the none too productive soil of his native section, but 
finally decided to try his fortune in the west, and left the land of his 
nativity in October, 1S50. In course of time he landed in Iowa at a 
little town then known as Orleans. In 1873 he removed to Kansas, 
where he died a year later, and his surviving widow resides with a son 
at Moulton. They had ten children, who are thus recorded in order 
of births on the pages of the family register : Elizabeth, James, Fanny, 
Daniel, Carlos, Maria, Henry. Lucy. Charles and Louis. 

Daniel M. Cox, who is .shown by the above list to be fourth in the 
family, was born in Xorthumberland county, Virginia, .\ugust 20, 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 29 

1838, and remained at hunie until twehe _\ears old. In 1850 he accom- 
panied his parents to Alton, Illinois, and a year later to Fa}ette, Illinois, 
where they remained until the fall of 1864, when he joined his parents 
in their emigration to Iowa, and settled in Appanoose county. He 
hranched out there with his usual energy and did fairly well until 1899, 
when his hip was so liadly injured by a fall as to make Iiim a confirmed 
in\alid. While lying in bed Mr. Cox began to revolve in his mind a 
device which promised to be popular in such a rich farming state as 
Iowa, and this child of his brain eventually emerged in the shape of a 
combination hay and stock rack. ?Ie took out a patent on this inven- 
tion, and since then has matle several impro\ements on the de\'ice, which 
it is his intention to also have patented. Still another useful machine 
was evolved by Mr. Cox in his weary hours of invalidism, the same 
being a sectional sliding gate, supported by rollers, which is pronounced 
quite practical by those who have examined the de\ice. 

In 1867 Mr. Cox was married to Miss Sarah A., daughter of Dr. 
Arnold Barker, of Monterey, bnva, who is a lady of notable traits of 
character in more wa_\s than one. She was a school teacher in early 
life and in 1865 had charge of what was known as the old Meadow 
schoolhouse in Wells township. In the same year she came prominently 
into public notice by her courage in leading the Prohibition forces 
against an obnoxious saloon in Monterey kept by one James Cross. 
This dive was being run in open defiance of the law, and after patience 
had ceased to be a virtue, the women, led by Mrs. Cox, took matters 
into their own hands and wiped the place out of existence. They were 
arrested, but not prosecuted, as both law and order and public senti- 
ment were on their side. Mrs. Cox is a member of the Presbyterian 
church at Moulton and took an active part in the religious work until 



30 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

an attack of rlieumatism made her an invalid as well as iier husband. 
Mr. Cox is a Repul)]ican in his poHtical i)redilections, but has not been 
a place seeker, and the only office he has held in the county is that of 
school director, of which he has been the incumbent for se\'eral years. 



THOMAS W. HOUGH. 

Along the southern bank of the Potomac river, about midway 
between Harper's Ferry and Washington, is situated the old county 
of Loudoun, wiiich has figured conspicuously and sometimes patheti- 
cally in the history of Virginia. Early in the Civil war it was brought 
into prominence by the battle of Ball's Bluff, in which Senator Baker 
of Oregon met his death. Later this county was pitilessly ravaged by 
both sides, as the contending armies marched I)ack and forth repeat- 
edly across this border land between the warring sections. Loudoun 
has always been noted for the substantial character of its agricultural 
population, and ranked for years as one of the best farming counties 
of the Old Dominion. Among the families long connected with "Old 
Loudoun" and identified with her development was that of Hough, 
which name was quite frequent there at that time. In the early part 
of the last century Isaac Hough, who was the first of twelve children, 
conducted a w(h)1 manufactory in connection with a mercantile Inisi- 
ness and became a man of soine importance in the community, owing 
to the success of his enterpri.ses. He married Mary Jane Paxton, by 
whom he had eleven children: Martha, decea.sed : Thomas W. ; Marv 
Ann, deceased; John, Isaac, Henry, Robert, Phoebe, Mary Elizabeth, 
Jennie, deceased, and Edgar, deceased. The father died in 1868, but 



BIOGRAPHICAL AMD GENEALOGICAL LIISTORY. 31 

liis wife survi\ed liim thirt)' years, not ending lier earllily pilgrimage 
until 1898. 

Tiionias \\'. Hough, second eldest of their children, was horn on 
the grandfather's old homestead in Loudoun county, \^irginia, Feb- 
ruary 4, 1834. and remained in his nati\e place until se\eral years after 
passing his majority. He left Virginia in 1859, a year or two before 
the desolating waves of war broke over the devoted county of Loudoun, 
and made his way to what was then considered the "far west." He 
first located in Jasper county, Iowa, where he li\ed for many years and 
accumulated considerable means, but in 1892 he transferred his resi- 
dence to Appanoose county, of which he has since been a citizen. His 
real estate holdings at present consist of several large town properties 
at Moulton and two farms southeast of that city. Since he came to 
Iowa Mr. Hough has been an intkistrious, hard-working man, and what 
he now owns is the well earned conipensation of a life of labor. 

On Mav 29, 1856, three years before his departure from Virginia, 
Mr. Hough was married to Florida Schooley, by whom he had nine 
children : Ida Virginia, Rosa May, deceased ; Mattie Ellen. Walter 
Elmer, Ellsworth Rosalie, Jessamine, Mary Ann. Thomas Albert and 
Florida S. The mother died April 13, 1875, in Jasper county, Iowa, 
and Mr. Hough was again married, October 18, 1877, to Fannie M., 
daughter of Samuel and Gertrude Lockwood, to which union ha\e been 
born three children: Xellie d.. Bertha, deceased, and William Henry 
Clyde. As the result of his industry and good management in earlier 
years, Mr. Hough is able to spend the evening of his life in compara- 
tive repose, and added to this satisfaction is the pleasant feeling that 
he both enjoys and deserves the good wishes of his neighbors. 



32 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

SOLOMOX G. HICKMAN. 

Solomon G. Hickman is one of the substantial farmers of Troy 
township, Monroe county, Iowa, wlio liave helped to bring the county 
into prominence as an agricultural section. Grandfather Solomon was 
a native of Scotland. The father, also named Solomon, was born in 
Fayette county, Pennsylvania, was reared on a farm, and married Eliza- 
beth Gary, a daughter of a soldier of the war of 1812. They both died 
in Greene county of their native state, the former at the age of ninety- 
four, the latter aged eighty-three. Sulomon, Sr.. was a Democrat in 
politics and a Universalist in faith, while his wife was a Presbyterian. 
Seven children were born to them: Charles was a soldier and is now 
deceased; Stephen is deceased; Anna is deceased: Solomon G. ; 
Archibald was a soldier and lives on the old farm in Pennsylvania; 
Abel lives in California: William is deceased. 

Solomon G. Hickman was born in Greene county, Pennsylvania, 
near Waynesburg, No\ember 30, 1840, was reared to manhood on the 
home farm, there imbibing many of the wholesome principles which 
were to guide him in his future. For some years he taught school in 
that part of Virginia which is now comprised in West Virginia, near 
Morgantown. This he continued till 1866, when he made his way to 
the west, settling in Monroe county, Iowa. After remaining here a 
few years and taking a partner for life's journey, he went to what is 
now South Dakota and took a homestead in Clay county, where he re- 
mained four years. Returning to Iowa, he bought fortv acres of his 
present fine farm of one hundred and ten acres from the man who had 
obtained it from the government. He has since added the balance. He 
has a well furnished hmise, a g(K)d orchard, large barn and feed lots, 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 33 

surrounded with l>eautiful shade trees, and tlie whole place evidences 
thrift and prosi)erity. 

On Se])tenil)cr 5, 1869, ]\Ir. Hickman married Miss Mary C. Sea- 
man, a huly of much intelligence, who has proved an excellent com- 
panion to him : she was horn, reared and educated in this county. Her 
father. William R. Seanian, was one of the early settlers, 
coming to the state in 1845 from Xew York. His wife was 
Drusilla Ross, a native of Illinois, and they had five children : 
Alinerva, deceased: Sarah Ann, Mary C, Eliza E. and Nel- 
son J. The parents, who were farmers, members of the Metho- 
dist church and excellent people, are both deceased, the father at the 
age of sixt\-fi\e, the mother aged sixty. Mr. and Mrs. Hickman be- 
came the parents of seven children : Alice, the wife of G. G. Robinson, 
of Laurel, Iowa; Solomon, a medical student of the Keokuk Medical 
College; John, who is one of the prominent teachers of the count}', the 
principal of the public scIkxiIs of Avery ; Mack, also a medical student 
at Ke(:)kuk; Arthur, who is a mail carrier on route No. 5, rural free 
delivery, at Albia. ; Charles S. is a student in the junior class 
of the Albia high school, and Philip, who is fifteen years old. 
John, Mack and Solomon are all graduates of the Albia high school 
and were successful teachers. Mr. Hickman is a Prohibitionist in poli- 
tics and a member of the Friends church, while the balance of the family 
belong to the L'nited Brethren church. He has the reputation of being 
a reliable business man, is frank and genial and has many qualities 
which make him influential in the township. 



34 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

WILLIAM B. DARBY. 
Rqjresentatives of the family of tliis name figured as early settlers 
of two states — Ohio, when it was still a frontier section of the country, 
and Iowa, when it was emerging from the territorial condition. 
Samuel Darby, the progenitor of these western pioneers, was a Phila- 
dclphian. who married Charity Rudyard in his native city, and moved 
to southern Ohio when it was still little better than a wilderness. He 
did his share toward clearing and develoi)ing that portion of the state, 
became well known in his cuninuniity and served with credit in the war 
of 1812. William Darby, son of these Philadelphia emigrants, was 
born in Vinton county, Ohio, May 30, 1808, received a good education 
for those days and afterward taught school with success for a number 
of years. He married Sarah, daughter of Elijah Cheneworth, a native 
of Virginia, descended from Irish ancestry, and continued to live in 
Ohio for many years after he became the head of a household. The 
stories then coming back of the fine opportunities offered to settlers by 
the young state of I.nva caused the Darbys to abandon the place of 
their nativity and join the tide of emigration across the Mississippi. 
Early in the fall of 1856 they departed with ox teams on their long 
journey, necessarily moving by short stages and camping out on the 
road as they advanced. It was during the famous campaign between 
Buchanan and Fremont for the presidency, and the excitement was at 
its height when the Darbys, with their slow moving o.xen. were passing 
through Indiana and Illinois. The boys of the family, being stalwart 
Democrats, did not hesitate at every suitable opportimity to do some- 
thing for their champion, and made the stopping places lively with 
cheers for Buchanan. It was the 4th of Xovember when the wayfarers 
reached their destination in .\ppanoose county, Iowa, where thev located 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 35 

on land in Unicm township. A \og cabin was liastily erected, and they 
soon had a home wliicli. thougli rude in its surroundings, was anii)le 
for all the needs of hardy pioneers. Of the five children born to the 
parents, Jerusha M. died when four years old, and Thomas J. was 
killed bv an earthquake in California. The others are Smiley C who 
resides on the old homestead; Harper D., who is farming near the 
town of Foster, in this state, and William B., who is the immediate sub- 
ject of this l)iography. Both father and mother lived to advanced age, 
the former being eighty-two and the latter eighty years old when called 
to render their last earthly accounts. They were in every respect a 
model couple, pious church members and always practicing the principles 
of moralitv. while endeavoring to instil into their children a love for 
all that was upright and noble. 

William B. Darby, namesake and youngest surviving child of his 
father, was lM>rn in Vinton county, Ohio, May 25. 1852, and was still 
a lx)y when the removal to Iowa took place. He grew up on the farm, 
was trained to habits of sobriety and industry by his good parents, and 
when he left home in the twenty-second year of his age was prepared 
to face the world with hopefulness and confidence. He was fortunate 
in the selection of Margaret J. Lockmon as his wife, she being a supe- 
rior woman herself and a member of a family noted for intelligence, 
morality and integrity. Her father, the late William Lockmon, was 
born in Indiana, but became a settler of Iowa in 1850 and figured use- 
fully in the state's formative period. He assisted in the survey of the 
site for the present prosperous city of Bloomfield and in other ways did 
his jiart in the work of improvement and development. He was promi- 
nent in religious work, being a deacon and elder of the Christian 
church, and was in the enjf)yment of general esteem and popularity 



36 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

when bis death occuired in Union townsliip. at the comparatively early 
age of fifty-four years. He married i'rovy. daugliter of John Helmick, 
of Appanoose county, by whom he had seven children : John J., Frank 
M., Margaret J. (Mrs. Darby). Gabriel S.. William P., Samuel J, and 
Ezra. After his marriage Mr. Darby located, in 1875, on forty acres 
of unimproved land in Monroe county, where he built a modest house 
and went to work clearing, fencing and otherwise preparing his place 
for cultivation. At the present time he owns one hundred and sixty 
acres of valuable land, underlaid witli coal, and supj)lied with all the 
necessary adjuncts in the shajjc of a good dwelling house, barn, granary, 
feed lots and suitable outbuildings of all kinds. Much of his land con- 
sists of meadows and fine bluegrass pastures, while the fencing and 
every appurtenance are in keeping with up-to-date farming in Iowa. 
His location is in Monroe township, one and one-half miles from Foster, 
where he carries on general farming and stock raising with the success 
that has made him one of the prosperous farmers of his neiglwrhood. 
May, the eldest of his seven children, died in infancy, but the other six 
were reared without mishap. Bertha, now the wife of George B. 
Spencer, of Monroe township, was a successful school teacher l)efore 
her marriage. Laura, who has also been a popular teacher, is now a 
student at the Toledo Normal College of Iowa. William, the eldest 
son, is a popular clerk in the Golden Eagle clothing store at Albia, and 
the other children, in order of birth, are Amos, Frank and Ray. Mr. 
Darby aftiliates with the Democratic party, has served as township 
trustee and was a member of the school board for several years. He 
is a stanch advocate of all tliat makes for righteousness, while his geni- 
ality, hospitality and frankness of disposition make him one of the 
popular men of the community. Mrs. Darby is a member of the Chris- 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 37 

tiaii church and prominent in rcHgious work as a member of the aid 
society. 

JAMES W. WAILES. 

This honored veteran of tlie Civil war. who i.s now successfully 
engaged in farming in Chariton townsiiip. was l3orn on the 20th of 
January, 1834, in Bartholomew county, Indiana, and is a son of Jolin 
P. and Sophia (Wilson) W'ailes, both of whom were representatives of 
distinguislied old colonial families that lK>re an important part in the 
establishment of the republic. I lis paternal grandparents were Samuel 
and Nancy (Naylor) W'ailes, the former of whom was born in Vir- 
ginia and died in Maryland, while the latter was born in Maryland and 
died in Indiana. Our subject's ])arents were also natives of Maryland, 
and his mother was a daughter of David and Mar^- (Wilson) Wilson, 
who were born in the same state. David Wilson died there, but his 
wife passed away in Davis county, Iowa. He was a colonel in the Revo- 
lutionary war and was a son of Jaiues Wilson, one of the signers of 
the Declaration of Independence, in 1776. Our subject's paternal 
grandfather also aided in freeing the colonies and held a captain's com- 
mission in the continental army. At an early dav the father, John P. 
Wailes, came to Iowa and took five hundred and twenty-one acres of 
government land in Appanoose county, where he spent his remaining 
days, though he died while on a visit in Kansas at the advanced age of 
eighty-eight years. His wife had ])assed away many years previously, 
dying in Appanoose county at the age of farty-fi\-e. They had nine 
children, seven of whom are still living. 

Coming to Iowa with his ])arents in bo\h(Kxl, James \\. Wailes 
was reared on a farm in this county, and was educated in the local 



38 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

schools. Xo event of special importance occurred during his early life 
until the Ci\i! war broke out. With the blood of Revolutionary heroes 
flowintj in his \eins. he could not remain quietly at home when the 
country was in danger, and in 1863 he enlisted in Company li, Eighth 
Iowa Cavalry, under the command of Captain M. M. Walden, and was 
in every battle in which his company and regiment took part, being 
never of¥ duty during his entire service. He was in the raid with. 
General AIcCfX)k against the rebels near Atlanta, Georgia, and was cap- 
tured near that city. Later he was sent Imme as a paroled prisoner of 
war. and when exchanged rejoined his command at Macon, Georgia. 
At the close of the war he was lumorably discharged in the fall of 1865 
and returned to his home in Iowa. 

For fifty-one years Mr. W'ailes has resided uj)on his present farm 
in Chariton townshij). where he owns two hundred and fifty-three acres 
of the land his father obtained from the government on first coming to 
this state. It is one of the best farms in the county. In 1S52 a log 
house, sixteen by eighteen feet, was built u])on the ])lacc. which, in 1901. 
was rejilaced by his present modern and attractive hnnic, an<l the barns 
and outbuildings are good and substantial. 

On the 22i\ of February, 1865, Mr. W'ailes was united in marriage 
to Miss Zerelda F.. Xeedham. who is also a native of Bartholomew 
county. Indiana, and a daughter of Bailey Wesley and Xancy Xeed- 
ham. Her ]iarcnts were l>>th born in Xorth Carolina, as were also her 
paternal grandparents. John and Xancy Xeedham. and her maternal 
grandparents, Benjamin and Ruth Bland. The grandparents all died 
in Indiana, but Mrs. Wailes' father died in this state, of which he was 
an early settler, being seventy-six years of age at the time of his death. 
Ilcr mother also died here, aged seventy-one vcars. Thev had a family 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 39 

of six children. Among her ancestors were soldiers of both the Revo- 
lutionary war and the war of 1812. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Waiies were born eight cliiUhen, who are still 
living, and fonr of the number arc now married. They also have eight 
grandchildren. The children are John \\'., a graduate of the Keokuk 
Medical College, who is now engaged in the practice of his profession in 
Davis City, Iowa; Emma, Mrs. James Kineman ; Luther; Nannie, 
Mrs. B. Thackery; Myrtle, Mrs. Charles Mclntyre; Levin; James W., 
and Zerelda E. 

Most of the family attend the Methodist Episcopal church and are 
highly respected and esteemed wherever known. Politically Mr. Waiies 
is unwavering in his support of the Republican party, and cast his first 
presidential vote for John C. Fremont, riding five miles to the polls. He 
has creditably filled various township offices, serving as assessor, justice 
of the peace and as a member of the school board. Socially he is an 
honored member of Sumner Post, No. 150, G. A. R., of Moravia, Iowa, 
and also belongs to the Andersonville Prisoners' Association, having 
been confined in that loathsome prison pen during his army life. He re- 
counts the sufferings endured by the northern soldiers there, and at one 
time saw one hundred dead within its walls. He is a man of broad 
and liberal views, a good citizen and thoroughly i)atrintic, devoted to 
the welfare of his country in times of peace as well as in war. He is 
one of the most popular men of his township, and stands high in the 
esteem of all who know him. 



40 BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 
THOMAS :\lILTOX FEE. 

As a prominent and talented representative of the legal profession 
of Iowa, as a member of the bench whose concise, clear and accurate 
judgments have gained for liim marked distinction among the state 
judiciary. Judge T. M. Fee is worthy of a prominent place in the history 
of Appanoose county. He is the descendant of eminent ancestors. On 
the paternal side the Fee famih- came to .\merica in 1627: the first 
one to come was of English and Irish lineage, and he settled in Mary- 
land, a branch of the house also going to Pennsylvania. On the mater- 
nal side the great-grandfather Hastings was the progenitor of the 
American family. He w'as a Protestant preacher, and on account of 
persecution came across the waters and settled in Pennsylvania. The 
parents of Judge Fee were Thomas and Sarah (Hastings) Fee. The 
former was the son of James Fee and a Miss Lacon. who were natives 
of Pennsylvania, but later removed to Ohio. Thomas Fee was born 
in Clermont county. Ohio, in 1802, and. on coming to manhood, em- 
barked in merchandising in Brown county of that state. He w'as the 
founder of Feesburg. in that county. In 1848 he removed to Pike 
county, Illinois, and began the manufacture of furniture in Perry. He 
there spent the rest of his days and died in 1866 at the age of sixty- 
four; his wife survived him many years, passing away at the age of 
eighty-five in Illinois. Their family consisted of eleven children, of 
whom three sons and three daughters grew to maturity. 

Thomas Milton, the youngest child, was Iwrn in Feesburg, Brown 
county, Ohio, on the 18th of .\pril, 1839. From the age of nine to 
nineteen he lived in Illinois, but then passed out from the parental home 
and went to Missouri to teach school. In i860 he removed to Ottumwa, 




THOMAS M. FEE. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GEXEALOGICAL HISTORY. 4:5 

Iowa, where he evinced his industry l)y teaching school and studying 
law at the same time. Jrle had enjoyed only a common school educa- 
tion, supplemented hy a course in an academy, l)ut with such \ij;-or and 
earnestness did he apply himself that he was admitted to the har in iSOj. 
May 12, i8Cj. is the date of his arrival in Centerville, and he at once 
hung out his shingle as a practicing attorney. But in the same year he 
laid all other duties aside and enlisted, in June, in Company (i. Thirty- 
sixth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, the regiment of which ex-Clnvermir 
Drake was lieutenant colonel. On October 4, 1862, he was made cap- 
tain of the company, and with that rank was mustered out at the close 
of the war, in September, 1865. He was captured with his regiment 
at Mark's Mills, and for ten months endured the privations of ])rison 
life at Tvler, Texas. He now recalls his war experiences with his 
comrades in John L. Bashaw Post, G. A. R. 

At the close of the war Mr. Fee returned to Centerville and re- 
sumed his practice. For two years he served as superintendent of 
schools of Appanoi:)se county. For one term, from 1875 to 1879, he 
was prosecuting attorney of the secnnd judicial district of Iowa. In 
1895 his Republican partisans elected him to the judgeship of the second 
judicial district court for a term nf four years, and he was re-elected 
and served till January, 1902. In 1899 he was a candidate for supreme 
judge of the state, and, although he did not receive the nomination, he 
had the heartv sujjport of his friends, and there is no doubt that he 
will receive the nomination in the near future if his friends can per- 
suade him to become a candidate. He has made a reputation as a 
campaign orator of great force and talent. 

Judge Fee is prominently identified with the social orders, a mem- 
ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in the IMasonic fraternity 



44 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

is a Knight Templar of St. John's Commandery, No. 21, and a Mystic 
Shriner of the Kaaba Temple at Davenport, and is a member of the 
military order of tlie Loyal Legion of the United States, Commandery 
of the State of Iowa. In religious belief he is a Methodist. He has 
been twice married and has five children. One son, John A., is a farmer 
in this county; Thomas G. is a graduate of the law department of the 
Iowa State University, was admitted to the bar in 1899 and is now 
practicing in connection with his father. The judge owns a nice resi- 
dence property on Van Buren street, besides other real estate in the city 
and in the county. 



ASBURY W. POTTS. 

One of the most prosperous and substantial farmers of Appanoose 
county, Iowa, is Asbury ^\'. Potts, who owns and operates a valuable 
farm in Chariton township, its neat and thrifty appearance plainly indi- 
cating his careful supervision and excellent management. He belongs 
to an old Virginia family, noted for industry, honesty and morality. 
His birthplace was Jackson county, now \\'est Virginia, where he first 
opened his eyes to the light of day on the 2d of October. 1846. the year 
Iowa was admitted In the Union. His father. William H. Potts, was 
born in Bath county, Virginia, October 29, 1824. and was one of the 
early settlers of Chariton township, Appanoose county, Iowa. The 
paternal grandfather, Jacob Potts, was born in the Shenandoah valley, 
Virginia, and was the son of a well known hotel man of Baltimore. 
Maryland, the family having previously resided in the latter state. 
William H. Potts grew to manhood in the Old Dominion and there 
married Rachel Welch, a native of the same state, and a daughter of 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. Vo 

John Welch, \\ho died in X'irginia. In 1849 Jacolj I'otts and his wife 
and children, of whom William H. was one, toj^etlier with their fam- 
ilies, came to Iowa, making the journey by water, down the Ohio and 
up the Mississippi, to Keokuk. They located in hranklin township, 
Monroe county, where the grandparents of our subject spent their 
remaining days, their deaths occurring on the old homestead where 
they first settled. I'pon his own place in Chariton, township William 
H. Potts built a log house and at once began to break the sod and culti- 
vate the fields. He died in 1857 at the comparati\ely earl\- age of 
thirty-three years, honored and respected by all who knew him. He 
was a good husband and father and a kind neighbor. His widow still 
survives him, being now in her eightieth year, as she was born on the 
i6th of Septeml)er, 1823. She is well preser\-ed both in mind and 
body, and is w'ell loved for her kindness of heart and many admirable 
characteristics. She is still living on the old home farm. In her family 
were five children, namely: Asbury ^^^, whose name introduces this 
sketch; Cornelia E., wife of H. A. Thompson; Bernhart H., a resident 
of Monroe county, Iowa; Mrs. Mary Miner, who died in (Iraham 
county, Kansas, and Eugenie, who lives with her mother. In his politi- 
cal views the father was a Democrat. 

Asbury \V. Potts was quite small when he accompanied his parents 
on their removal to Iowa and was only eleven \ears old when his father 
died. Being the oldest of the family, he became his mother's .assistant in 
the operation of the farm and in |>rovi(ling for the younger children. 
He early learned lessons of honesty and industr}-. which ha\e been the 
chief elements in his success. He attended school in a log cabui fur- 
nished with slab benches that were immovalile, and the writing desk 
was made by a slab placed uixni ])ins dri\cn into the wall. 



46 BIOGRAPHICAL AND CEXEALOCICAL HISTORY. 

Mr. Potts remained with his mother until he was married, at the 
age of twenty-three, in Monroe comity. Iowa, the lady of his choice 
being Miss Cynthia O. GilHland. one of the most popular and successful 
teachers of this part of the state at that time. She was born, reared 
and educated in Crawford county. Pennsylvania, and engaged in teach- 
ing for a time in that state prior to coming west. Her parents, Simpson 
and Hannah (Lewis) Cjilliland. were also natives of Crawford county, 
w^here they spent their entire lives, the former dying at the age of fifty 
years, the latter at the age of forty-five. Both were earnest and con- 
sistent members of the MethcHlist l'"i)isc()pal church, and the father was 
a Republican in politics. By occupation he was a farmer. They had 
four children : William L. and Cynthia O.. who are still living, and 
Samuel A. and Mrs. Mary Thompson, now deceased. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Potts were born five children: Albert, the eldest, 
is now a widower and has one child ; he resides with his father, al- 
though he owns a farm of his own. Jessie is the wife of W. P. Davis, 
of Monroe county. Iowa. Horton is married and lives on a farm in 
Chariton township. Amy is the wife of O. Duvall, of Taylor town- 
ship. Elva, the youngest of the fainily. is at home. The children have 
all received good educations and the family is one of prominence in the 
community where they reside. The sons are capable business men and 
are meeting with success in their undertakings. 

Throughout his active business life Mr. Potts has followed farm- 
ing and has steadily prospered until he is now the owner of eight hun- 
dred and ninety acres of the best farming land in Appanoose county. 
His elegant home was erected at a cost of two thou.sand dollars, and 
everything about the i)lace is in perfect harmony therewith. There are 
large barns and other outbuikliucs and a windmill, while a fine orchard 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 47 

and grove add greatly to the beauty of tlie place. The fields are well 
cultivated, and everything betokens a painstaking and progressive 
owner, who thoroughly luulerstands his chosen vocation. lie is an 
up-to-date farmer and stock raiser, making a specialty of high grade 
cattle. The success that he has acliieved in life is due entirely to his 
own well directed and energetic efforts, for he started out with no 
capital, and lie deser\es an honored place on the roll of the county's 
self-made men. He is a man of more than ordinary business ability, 
possesses keen discrimination and sound judgment, and these qualities 
have enabled him to leave the ranks of the many and stand among the 
successful few. In manner he is hospitable, frank and genial, and he 
makes many friends. His estimable wife is a member of the Metliodist 
Episcopal church, and with her husband shares in the friendship of all 
who know her. 

B. G. MILLER. 

B. G. Miller, of Union township, Appanoose county, was born in 
Tennessee, April 4, 1848, and the same year was brought to Iowa by his 
father, Hon. C. B. Miller, now of L^nionville. He was born in Hick- 
man county. Tennessee, Decem1)er i, 1824, and is a son of Nathaniel 
Johnson Miller, whose birth occurred in Xorth Carolina, and who was 
of Irish descent. The grandfather married Sarah Martin, whose 
mother bore the maiden name of Miss Barber, and the latter had sev- 
eral brothers who were soldiers of the Ivevolutionary war. At his 
death Nathaniel John.son Miller left two children. Claudius P.. and Har- 
riet J. 

Cladius B. Miller was reared upon the old home farm in Tennessee 
and there acquired his education. He was married in 1846 to Martha 



48 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

Baldridge, an estimable lady who traveled life's journey with him for 
twenty-seven years, passing away in Appanoose county in 1873. Their 
children were Benjamin G. : Joseph D., a resident of Missouri; Mrs. 
Laura J. Hicks; Mrs. Amanda Miller; Sarah, deceased; William C, 
and Mrs. Rosa B. Large, of Indian Territory. After the death of 
his first wife the father was again married, in 1876 to Miss Dorcas E. 
Jennings, of Appanoose county, a daughter of Perry Jennings. There 
are two children by this union— Mabel, who is a school teacher, and 
Agnes. For many years the father has carried on farming and mer- 
chandising, and is recognized as a leader in business, political and social 
circles. In 1871 and 1873 ^^^ was elected to represent his district in the 
state assembly and left the impress of his individuality upon the legisla- 
tion enacted during those sessions. At the time of the Civil war he 
was equally lo\al to his country, joining the Thirty-sixth Iowa Infantry 
under the commnad of Colonel Kittridge. He did faithful service in 
defense of the government and is now a valued member of the Grand 
Army of the Republic, thus maintaining pleasant relations with his old 
comrades. He also belongs to the Masonic fraternity and to the Metho- 
dist Episcopal church, and there is no man in the community more 
honored and respected than Claudius B. Miller. 

Benjamin G. Miller has spent his entire life in Appanoose county. 
He remained under the parental roof and at an early age assisted in 
the work of the farm. His education was obtained in a log school- 
house, seated with slab benches, and his feet rested u])on a puncheon 
floor. In one end of the room was an immense fireplace, and the 
methods of instruction were also somewhat primitive. At the time of 
the Civil war. although a boy of fifteen years, he enlisted for service 
in the Thirty-si.xth Iowa Infantry, as a member of Company C. This 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 49 

was the same company to whicli liis father belonged. He was under 
the command of Captain Ahen W. Miller and Colonel Kittridge, and 
later the conipan_\- was coniniandcd h)- Captain William V'erniillya. 
With his regiment he took part in a number of hotly contested battles, 
and on the expiration of his term of service he was honorably dis- 
charged and returned to his home. He then resumed farm work, and 
at the age of nineteen years was united in marriage to Miss Mary 
Clancy, who has been a faithful companion and helpmeet to him as 
the years have passed by. She is a native daughter of Appanoose 
county, and her parents were \\'esley and Malinda (Martin) Clancy, 
who became pioneer settlers here; in fact, Mr. Clancy was the first 
man to establish a home in the county, the date of his arrival being in 
May, 1S43, ^^ which time he secured a claim from the government. 

Throughout his entire life Mr. Miller has carried on agricultural 
pursuits, and is now the owner of a valuable farm of three hundred 
and four acres in Union township. l'i)on it is a good modern resi- 
dence, standing on a natural liuilding site, and around it are fine shade 
trees, beautiful flowers and shrubs, making the home one of the most 
attractive features of the landscape. There is an orchard, containing 
many kinds of fruit trees, and meadows and pasture lauds furnish feed 
for the stock in both summer and winter. There is a large barn, feed 
lots and granaries and other necessary outbuildings, and the farm has 
some of the best corn producing land in the county. Mr. Miller is also 
engaged in the stock l)usiness, raising and feeding good grades of stock, 
and through this avenue he is likewise meeting with excellent success. 

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Miller has been blessed with the follow- 
ing children: Mrs. Cora E. Thompson; \\'illiam N., who married 
Bertha Hudgens and lives in Udell township; Turpa J., Cleffie B., Iva 



50 BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

E. ; and John B., Flora and Alice, who are now deceased. The 
last named was twenty-two years of age at the time of her 
death, and slie had many friends who mourned her loss because 
of her pleasing characteristics and many excellent qualities. Mr. 
Miller is recognized as one of the leading Democrats of his 
township and was nominated by his party in 1902 for the position 
of county super\'isor. No trust of a public or private nature rqjosed 
in him has ever been betrayed, and at all times he gives his influence 
and aid on the side of right, improvement and progress. His entire 
life having been passed in this county, his history is well known to his 
many friends and neighbors and the fact that those who have known 
him the longest entertain for him the warmest regard is an indication 
of an upright career. 



JAMES MADISON CREECH. 

James Madison Creech, who owns and cultivates a fine farm of 
three hundred and eighty-five acres on section 24. Taylor township, 
came to Appan(K)se county on the 24th of April. 1857. and has made 
his home here since then. He was born in Hawkins county. Tennessee, 
October 22, 1834. a son of Stephen Creech, who was born in Virginia, 
and a grandson of Elijah Creech, also of the Old Dominion. * The fam- 
ily, however, is of Irish descent, the great-grandfather having been born 
on the Emerald Isle, whence he emigrated to the new world Stephen 
Creech was reared in Virginia and in early life learned the ccwper's trade. 
He married Elizal>eth Hicks, who was born in the same state as was her 
father. James Hicks, who was of English descent, and served his coun- 
trv as a soldier in the war of 1812. Removing westward tt) Tennessee 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 51 

Stephen and Eliza Creecli spent their remaining days upon the old home- 
stead farm, wliich the father continued to cultivate throughout his active 
business career. In politics he was first a Whig and afterward a Demo- 
crat and both he and his wife were members of the Missionary Baptist 
church. His death occurred when he had attained the ripe old age of 
eighty-two years and his wife passed away at the age of seventy years. 
Their children were Sarah, James M., Lydia, Elijah, John, deceased; 
Amanda, S. Xelson. Andrew, who has passed away; William Jesse and 
Solomon B. Only four of the number, however, are now living. 

James M. Creech was reared in Hawkins county upon the home 
farm and at an early age began following the plow. He obtained his 
education in a log schoolhouse and when twenty-one years of age left 
the state of his nativit)-, going to Texas, where he remained for some 
months. He then came northward to Appanoose county, Iowa, and has 
since been identified with agricultural interests in this part of the state. 
He was married on October 2, 1858, in Appanoose coa.mty, to Miss 
Eliza Clancy, who for forty-four jears has been a faithful companion 
and helpmeet to him on life's journey. She was born in Jackson 
county, Illinois, a daughter of John \\'esley Clancy, who was one of the 
first settlers of this countw arriving here in ]\Iay, 1843, when Iowa was 
still a territory. He was born in Tennessee and was there united in 
marriage to Malinda Martin, a native of Kentucky. In Iowa Mr. 
Clancy developed a good farm in the midst of pioneer surroundings 
and here he died at the age of seventy-six years, while his wife passed 
away at the age of forty-eight years. He voted with the Democracy 
and was a loyal adherent of the Missionary Baptist church, in which 
he served as a deacon. To him and his wife were Ixirn ten children, 
seven of whom reached vears of maturitv, namelv : Clarissa, de- 



52 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORV. 

ceased; William, deceased; Mrs. Eliza Creech. Mrs. Elizabeth Bishop, 
John, deceased; Mrs. Mary Miller, George. Mrs. Jane Coulson, Mrs. 
Freelove Chambers, and .Andrew, deceased. For his second wife the 
father chose Mary l'>ost and they had three children, but Walter is 
the only one now living", Edward and an infant being the deceased. 

For a while after his marriage Mr. Creech located upon the farm 
belonging to his father-in-law. and then with the money he had gained 
through his own labors he purchased forty acres of land and took up 
his abode in a little log cabin upon his present farm. Here he worked 
hard. ch(i])ping away the timber and clearing the bushes from many 
acres of land. As time has passed and his financial resources have in- 
creased he has added to his property until he now has three hundred 
and eighty-lhe acres, constituting one of the best farms in his town- 
ship. This is rich bottom land and upland and the fields are watered 
by Soap creek. All is fenced and the farm is divided into pasture and 
meadow lands and tilled fields. An orchard yields its fruits in season 
and a large barn and other outbuildings furnish shelter for grain and 
stcxk, while the home of the family is accounted one of the best country 
residences in Appanoose county. Mr. Creech has been a very success- 
ful farmer and stock-raiser, and assisted by his estimable wife has ac- 
quired a handsome competency. 

The home of this worthy couple has been blessed with ten chil- 
dren: John, Rosa, William. George F., Charles S., a merchant of 
Udell, li)wa: Mrs. Josephine Swaim. of Union township; Ellis, who 
died at the age of twenty-one years; Jane, who passed away at the age 
of eleven years; Roy N.. of the same township; Edgar, who is a young 
man of nineteen years assisting in the work of the home farm. Mr. 
and iMrs. Creech have a granddaughter, Edna, who is now eleven vears 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 53 

of age anO wlio lias lived with them since her babyhood because of her 
mother's death. Her father is William Creech, their third son. Mr. 
Creech votes with the Democracy and has served for six years as town- 
ship supervisor. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity and is a member 
of the Missionary Baptist churcii. He is a man of splendid physique, 
being six feet and one and a half inches in height and weighing over two 
hundretl poimds. In manner he is genial and cordial, in disposition 
friendly, and he possesses the sterling traits of character which in 
every land and every clime command respect and regard. His life, too, 
proves how effective are industry, perseverance and good management 
in winning prosperity, for though he started out in life empty-handed, 
he is now the possessor of a very valuable property. 



WILLIAM STEPHENS. 

As the above named came to Iowa shortly after its admission into 
the L'nion as a state he has a clear title to the claim of being one of the 
early settlers, and his long residence in Monroe county gives him stand- 
ing as one of its best known citizens. He also enjoys the much prized 
honor of having served his country well in its hour of need and of 
coming out of the army with a good military record. As his civil life 
has been passed in agricultural pursuits it has necessarily been of a 
quiet and unostentatious character, but it is something of a distinction 
to be a successful farmer in Iowa, the state so noted for its progress 
in agriculture, and those who know Mr. Stephens will not deny him the 
right to be counted one of this honorable host. His forefathers were 
Virginians and settled in that section of the state which, on account of 
disagreements growing out of the Civil war, seceded and began busi- 



54 BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

ness as a new commonwealtli. Long before this event, however, Wil- 
liam Stephens had removed from his native country of Wales and taken 
up his alx)de in the \alley of tiic Greenbrier ri\er. He chose as his wife 
Sarah C. Mc\'ey. who, like himself, was of Irish extraction, being the 
daughter of Samuel McVey. 

William Stephens remained some time in \\'est Virginia after 
his marriage, but eventually removed to Louisa county, Iowa, 
where he carried on farming in connection with carpentering un- 
til his death, at the age of forty-seven. His wife long survived him and 
died after her removal to Monroe county, when in the sixty-eighth 
year of her age. James S., the eldest of their six children, sened as a 
soldier in the Mexican war and afterward was killed by robbers at 
St. Joe, Missouri, for which crime four men were lianged on the banks 
of the Missouri river. William, the second son, will be fullv noticed 
further along. Martin and .\lexander. third and fourth of the familv, 
are nmv residents of Nebraska. Mary Jane is the wife of Thomas 
Brandon and lives at Melrose, Iowa, and Elizabeth C. Stephens is the 
wife of J. X. Repp, of Monroe county, Iowa. 

William Stephens, second son and namesake of his father, was born 
in Greenbrier county. West \'irginia. and eleven years later went with 
his parents to Stark county, Illinois, whence they came in 1848 to the 
state of Iowa. His rearing and education did not differ from that of 
the average farm lx)y of the period, and was without incident of im- 
portance until the outbreak of the Civil war. In \^()2 Mr. Ste])hens 
enlisted in a company commanded by Captain George Xobie. which 
was part of the Thirty-sixth Regiment, Iowa \'olunteer Infantry, under 
Colonel Kittrcdge and Lieutenant Colonel Drake. This regiment oper- 
ated extensively in .\rkan.sas. and Mr. Stcpliens tiwik part with it in 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 55 

engagements at Helena, Little Rock, Elkin's Ford, Camden and Mark's 
Mills. At the last mentioned place he was captured by the "Johnny 
Rebs" and taken as a prisoner to Tyler, Texas. After being cooped 
up for ten months he was lucky enough to obtain an exchange and came 
home on a thirty days' furlough. Not being able to rejoin his regi- 
ment at the expiration of his month's leave he was examined by the 
medical board and given an extension of time for thirty days, after 
which he reported at headquarters at Keokuk, and was ordered to be dis- 
charged from the service shortly afterward at Davenport. 

Mr. Stephens married Mrs. Minerva J- Turner, whose husband 
died in the Civil war in 1862, and whose maiden name was Johnson, 
she being the daughter of Isaac and Louzana Johnson, who came from 
Kentucky and ended their days in L^wa. 

Mrs. Stephens" great-grandfather was James McBrier, a veteran of 
the war of 1812. It is told of the latter that when he returned from 
the army he stopped before his wife's house and asked for lodging, but 
not being recognized, met with a refusal. Being somewhat abashed at 
his reception he made himself known by exclaiming: "I am James 
McBrier, your husband." This, of course, led to his being taken in 
and warmly welcomed, and, as the story writers say, "they lived hap- 
pily ever after." 

The children of this union are thus recorded in order 
of birth: Mrs. Cynthia Hammons, who resides at Hilton; Wil- 
liam H., Mrs. Alice Bowman, Mrs. Mattie Hankins, who died in 
1900, leaving a child, Lile Hankins ; Ernest, Edward, Arthur, Lizzie 
Eathen, and Manola. Mr. Stephens resides on the homestead place in 
Franklin township and is comfortably fixed in all respects. He is a 
member of the Seventh Dav Advent church, of the Grand Armv of the 



5G BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GEXEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

Republic, and in all tlic relations of life is found to be genial, sociable 
and readv to oblige. 



WILLIAM V. \'ERMILIOX. 

Among the men of A])i)anoose county who have gone, leaving the 
impress of their lives on the institutions and welfare of their community, 
is William F. Vermilion. The parents of this gentleman were Joel and 
Nancy (Shaw) Vermilion, natives of old Kentucky; the father was a 
minister in the Baptist church and about 1840 removed from Kentucky 
and settled in Putnam county. Indiana, where he continued in his min- 
istration until his death. 

William was also a native of Kentucky, born there on October 18, 
1830; coming with his parents to Indiana he obtained his mental train- 
ing in the primitive schools of that state and grew up to healthy and 
vigorous manhood. He then went to Illinois, and having made medi- 
cine his choice of the professions began the study of that science and 
later attended the Rush Medical College in Chicago. The date of his 
arrival in Ai)panoose county, Iowa, was about 1857. He had accom- 
panied an invalid brother to Texas and drove from there to this county, 
where he remained ; he was united in marriage to Mary Kemper, whose 
father, Valentine Kemper, had settled in Monroe county from Putnam 
county, Indiana. At Iconium, Appanoose county, Mr. Vermilion began 
the practice of medicine and continued until the Civil war threw all 
peaceful pursuits into confusion. In 1861 he organized a company 
which was known as Company F, Thirty-sixth Iowa Infantry; of this 
he was commissioned captain and serving loyally through the struggle 
was nuistered out in September, /865. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 57 

On his return from the war he devoted liimself to tlic study of 
law, was admitted to the bar, and thereafter continued tlie practice of 
this profession in Centerville. On the Rejjublican ticket lie was elected 
and served one session in the state senate, but outside of this held no 
public office. His wife, Mary Kemper Vermilion, having died, he was 
in 1894 united in marriage with Mrs. Kate B. Day. of Centerville, who 
survived him. When in his sixty-fifth year he passed away in his home 
at Centerville, on December 28, 1894. 



C. W. VERMILION. 

C. W. \'ermilion, the son of William F. and Mary (Keniper) Ver- 
milion, and a sketch of whose father appears above, has followed in the 
profession of his father. He was born in Centerville, Iowa, on the 6th 
day of November, 1866, and was reared and educated in his native 
town ; his higher education was received in DePauw University in In- 
diana, and in 1889 he graduated in the law department of the Univer- 
sity of Michigan. In October of the same year he was admitted to 
the Iowa bar and began practice in Centerville. Mr. Vermilion has also 
given some attention to politics, being a member of the Republican 
party. In 1892 he was made county attorney and was re-elected two 
years later. In 1901 Governor Shaw appointed him judge of the 
second judicial district court to fill the luiexpired term caused by the 
resignation of Judge T. M. Fee, and at tiie election of the following 
year he was elected for the ensuing full term. in. 1897 A'Ir. Vcnnilion 
was married to Clare Eloise Biddle, who is the youngest daughter of 
William M. Biddle, a pioneer of Appanoose county. 



58 BIOC.KAPUICAL AXP GEXEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

JOHX D. McKIM. 

John D. McKiiii. whose farm is located on section 5 in Union 
townsliip, is one of tlie early settlers of Appanoose county and was the 
first school teacher of his township. From that time to the present he 
has been active in su]iport of material, social, intellectual and moral 
interests calculated to l)enefit the comnuuiity. and his locality classes 
him with its best citizens. He was born in Spencer county, Indiana, 
March 11. 1827, and on one side comes of Scotch ancestry and on the 
other of Scotcii-Irish. His father. Robert McKim, was Ixirn in Ken- 
tucky in July. 1798, and was reared in that state and in Indiana. He 
became a hunter and largely devoted his time to the hunting of wild ani- 
mals with the Indians. When a young man he had ser\ed in some 
of the Indian wars and in the war uf 1R12. He was married in Ken- 
tiirWy to Elizabeth Tate, a native of Pennsylvania, and a daughter of 
Samuel Tate, who also rendered his country faithful service as a soldier 
in the war of 1812 and by aiding in protecting the frontier settlements 
against Indian attacks. To Mr. and Mrs. Robert McKim were born 
twelve children, of whom five reached years of maturity, while three 
are still living, those being: Alfred, of Missouri; Sarah, who is liv- 
ing in the same state; and John D., of this re\icw. The mother died 
in Spencer county, Indiana, and the father afterward married Nancy 
Lamar, by whom he had three children, but all are now deceased. His 
death occurred in Spencer county, Fe1>ruary 23. 1862. Both he and 
his wife were members of the Baptist church, and he was a Republican 
in his political views. 

John D. McKim was reared upon the home farm in Spencer county 
and is indebted to the public schools of that locality for the educational 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. o'J 

privileges lie enjoyed. W'lien he ceased to be a student he Ijecame a 
teacher and followed that profession for several terms. In his native 
county he married Rebecca Lamar, who was a native of Spencer 
county, Indiana, b(irn April 2. 1831. her parents being Elisha and 
Nancy (W'ollen) Lamar, natix'es of Kentucky; the former died in In- 
diana in middle life, and his children were Mrs. McKim, Elijah, now 
deceased; Alathias, who was a soldier of the Thirty-sixth Iowa Infan- 
try in the war of the Rebellion and is now deceased ; Hannah, who has 
also passed away ; and Trusten, who was a soldier of the Twenty-first 
Missouri Infantry and is now lixing in Oklahoma. 

In the year 185 1 Mr. McKim left his old home in Indiana and came 
to Appanoose county, Iowa, settling in Union township, where he has 
since resided. He has lived upon his present farm for eighteen vears 
and has here a tract of sixty-one acres of good land, on which is a com- 
fortable home, a substantial barn and a fine bearing orchard. His 
fields, too, are well cultivated and his labors annually bring ttj him a 
comfortable li\ing. The home of Mr. and Mrs. McKim has been 
blessed with ten children; Alfred, of Ringgold county, Iowa; J. R., 
of Nebraska; James R., deceased; Elijah Marion, who has also passed 
awa^'; Mathias W'ollen, of Moravia; Lewis Cass, of this county; Mrs. 
Alartha Josephine Sapp, deceased; Mrs. Sarah E. Stocker, of Union 
township; Frank Leslie, of Des Moines. Iowa; and one that died in in- 
fancy. 

Mr. McKim's military ser\ice began on the 7th of Xo\ember, 1862, 
at which time he joined the boys in blue of Comi)anv I>, Se\-cnth Iowa 
Cavalry, serving until the close of the war. He was under the com- 
mand of Captain John Wilcox and Colonel Sunnier and the regiment 
did dutv in Nebraska and the west against the hostile Indians, being 



60 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

stationed at different times at Fort Riley, at Fort Kearney, at O'Fal- 
lon's, and Julesburg, Colorado, and at other points upon the frontier. 
The}' did much effective ser\ice for the government in suppressing the 
uprising of the Indians. Mr. McKim had his toes and lower limbs 
frozen and has suffered much since that time on account of this. He 
has always voted with the Republican party and has served as town- 
ship assessor, as constable and as justice of the peace, discharging his 
duties in a most ]ironipt and capalile manner. He has also served on 
the school board .ind he was the first teacher of Union township and 
was followed by Thomas Underwood, our subject examining him and 
granting him his certificate. The cause of education has ever found in 
Mr. McKim a warm friend, and on the school board he did everything 
in his power to advance educational interests here. He belongs to the 
Christian church, his wife to the United Brethren church, and both 
are people of genuine worth. His word is as good as his bond, his in- 
tegrity standing as an unquestioned fact in his career. 



EMANUEL B. GREENLY. 

Emanuel B. Creenly, an honored veteran of the Ci\il war, who 
offered his services to the government when eighteen years of age and 
faithfully defended the old flag through the hour of the country's peril, 
is now successfully carrying on farming in Union township, .\ppanoose 
county. He was born in Lancaster county, Pcnnsyhaia, in 1843, a son 
of John and Sarah (Buchter) Greenly, both of whom were natives of 
Pennsylvania and spent their entire lives in that state. They held mem- 
bership in the Duiikard clunch and were people of genuine worth. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AM) GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. <W 

Four of their sons. Andrew, Samuel, Ar.ius and Emanuel, were volun- 
teer soldiers in tlie I'ninn -\rniy. 

At a very early age Emanuel B. Greenly was hound out. and he had 
no opportunity to secure an education, hut through his own lahur he 
learned to read and write. His youth was one of unremitting toil and 
whate\er he has achie\ed has been won through his own lahnr. With 
every department of farm labor he early became familiar. He was 
married first in Pennsylvania to Miss Sarah Winkdeman. a native of 
that state. She died in Illinois, leaving five cliildren : Anna. Barliara, 
John, Mary and Wilhelmina. In 1880 in Hanctxdv county, Illinois, Mr. 
Greenly was again married, his second union being with ]\Iarv Cane, 
a daughter of John and Rebecca Cane. Mrs. Greenl\, b\- a former 
marriage, had one son, Ira S, W'ollin, who is now in Albia, Iowa. 

Mr. Greenly was but eighteen years of age wdien the Ci\il war 
broke out. He had watched with interest the progress of events in the 
south, and l)clie\ing in the righteousness of the Union cause he enlisted 
at Lancaster, PennsyKania, in 1861. as a member of Company C. 
Seventy-ninth Pennsylvania Infantry, under Captain Dysart and Colonel 
Hambriglit. Later his compan_\- was commanded by Captain Bone, 
and still later liy Captain Dysart, and for three years Mr. Greenl)- re- 
mained with the army, taking part in a number of important engage- 
ments, including the battles of Perrysvillc, Stone River. Murfreeslwro, 
Nashville, Chickamaugua, and Chattanooga. He became ill with tv- 
phoid fever and also suffered from other ailments, liecause of this 
he was transferred to the Nineteenth Invalid Coq) as a member of com- 
pany G, commanded by William C. Alberger. For a time he was in 
the hospital at \\'ashington, D. C, and also at lUiffalo. New York, and 
in F.hnira he was honorablv discharged, lie returned to his home with 



r.2 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

a good war record, for he had ever been loyal to his duty and faithful 
to the best interests of the nation. In 1877 or '78 he moved to Illi- 
nois. It was in the year 1880 that Mr. (Ircciily came witli his family 
to Iowa, settling in Union township, Appanoose county. He here owns 
seventy-eight acres of good land, upon which is a stable, a good or- 
chard, a wood lot and pasture lands, in addition to the richly cultivated 
fields. His time and attention are given luitiringly to his farm work, and 
certainly he deserves great credit for what he has accomplished, owing 
his success entirely to his own efforts. He is a member of the Grand 
Army of the Republic, being associated with Sunnier Post No. 398, of 
Moravia, and his wife is a loyal member of the United Brethren church. 

JOSEPH GOSS. 

The above named is a familiar figure in commercial circles at Cen- 
terville, where he has been engaged in diflferent branches of merchandis- 
ing for forty-seven years. During this period, also, he has been actively 
identified with the religious, educational and social life of this enter- 
prising county seat. Few men have more acquaintances than he in Ap- 
panoose and surrounding counties, and none possesses a fairer name in 
the marts of trade. Joseph Goss is one of two survivors of an English 
family which came to this countrj' before Iowa had been admitted into 
the Union as a state. He is a .son of Samuel and Mary (Burrows) 
Goss and was born at Manchester, England. April 28, 1834. In 1842, 
when he was about eight years old, his parents left their native land for 
America, and upon arrival at the port of New Orleans made their way 
up the Mississippi to St. Louis. Some five or six years were spent in 
the Missouri metropolis, but hoping for better opportunities the emi- 




JOSEPH GOSS. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. C5 

g;rants proceedeil to tlie new state of Iowa and found a location at Keo- 
kuk. Their deaths occurred in that city at comparatively early ages, 
the father heing hut forty-six and the mother lifty-two years of age 
when tlie final summons came which closed their earthly careers. Only 
two of their six children are now living. 

Joseph, the eldest of these, was forced to shift for himself at an 
early age, without capital and with very limited equi])ments in the way 
of education. The trade of brick-mason and plasterer, which he had 
learned in early manhood, afforded him support for seven years, when 
he determined on a different line of occupation. It was in 1855 that 
Mr. Goss settled at Centerville, which, with the exception of one year 
spent at Eddyville, has ever since been the scene of his business activi- 
ties. In 1859 he secured employment as a clerk in a general store, and 
remained in that situation for twelve consecutive years. Meantime he 
had by close saving accumulated a little capital, and with this, in 1870, 
he branched out in a moderate way as a dealer in boots and shoes. He 
prosecuteil this business for ten years, during which time agricultural 
implements were added as a side line, and in 188 1 he disposed of the 
stock and establishment to his son. He then purchased a well stocked 
hardware store, and has continued in that line of business with flat- 
tering success up to the present time. Mr. Goss is now probably en- 
titled to the rank of dean of the business corps at Centerville by virtue 
of longest continued service, and, considering the disadvantages under 
which he labored when beginning, has accomplished results that reflect 
credit upon his ability as a merchant. 

In December, 1855, about the time he came to Centerville, Mr. 
Goss was married to Clara Brough, a native of Virginia, by whom he 
had four children. He has long been affiliated with the Christian 



66 BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GEXEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

church and has been a member of the Knights Templar for twenty 
years. Though deprived of educational opportunities in youth, and 
perhaps because of that very fact, Mr. Goss has always been a stanch 
friend of education, and for fourteen years was an active member of the 
Centerville school board. A charter member of the Republican party, 
he has ever co-operated cordially with that great political organization, 
but has neither sought nor desired office of any kind. 

D.WTD W. KENWORTHY. 

One of the retired farmers of Monroe county who has been an in- 
habitant of this state for over si.xty-five years, thus being able to take 
a front seat in the old settlers' meetings, is David W. Kenworthv. He 
is the son of Jehu and Amaretta (Stockton) Kenworthy. Jehu Ken- 
worthy was born in North Carolina in 1801 and there grew up to man- 
hood. Long before Iowa was admitted to statehood he came to Cedar 
county and in 1854 rennwed to Monroe county and bought land near the 
present site of the village of Tyrone : and on this farm of two hundred 
and forty acres he lived until his death. In politics he was a member of 
that famous organization known as the Know Nothing party and was 
also a Whig and a Republican; he and his wife were members of the 
Qiristian church. His wife was a native of Ohio and bore him eleven 
children : Rebecca, deceased ; Alzina, deceased ; Clark, deceased ; Mary 
is living; Ira. deceased; William, deceased; David W. is living; Jesse, 
deceased: Charles Otis is living; George, deceased, and Winfield Scott 
is living. 

David W. Kenworthy is a native son of Iowa, having been born 
in Cedar county. October 20. 1838: the first few years of his life were 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 0.7 

spent here and in 11^47 lie went to Mdnt^iMiiery county, Indiana, wlicre 
he remained for nine years. He then returned to AL.nroe county, but 
soon after emigrated to Oregon, wliicli was at tliat time one of tlie 
growing and newly developed sections of the country. \\'hile there the 
Civil war burst upon the country and he was one of the first to enlist, 
enrolling himself on December 10, 1861, at Phoenix, in Company D, 
First Oregon Cavalry ; they spent the following winter at Camp Baker 
and in the spring crossed the state to Oregon City, where they were en- 
gaged in numerous skirmishes with the Indians; after three years' ser- 
vice he was mustered out at Vancouver, Dec. 10, 1864. The year fol- 
lowing his army service he drove a team for the government and in May, 
1865, he returned to Monroe county and engaged in farming, which 
occupation he has continued up to the present time. 

On February 2, 1866. Mr. Kenworthy was married to Miss Eliza- 
beth McCreary, a native of Ohio, who came to Iowa at an early day. 
Mr. and Mrs. Kenworth\- became the parents of six cliildren, four sons 
and two daughters : Arthur, Amaretta. Nona, William, Harry and 
Mark; all were born in this county and are living at the present time. 
Mr. Kenworthy has always found that the Republican party expressed 
his political belief, and in the various affairs of public concern has shown 
himself a true and representative citizen of the county. 



JOHN H. MAY. 

The press has not only recorded the history of advancement, but 
has also ever been the leader in the work of progress and improvement, 
in the vanguard oi civilization. The philosoplier of some centuries ago 
proclaimed the truth that "the pen is mightier than the sword." and 



68 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

this statement is continually being verified in the affairs of Hfe. In 
molding public opinion the power of the newspaper cannot be over- 
estimated, but at all events the influence is greater than any other single 
agency. Since Mr. May became a factor in the journalistic field he has 
done much to promote the welfare and progress of his town, and the 
Cincinnati Review, of which he is the editor and proprietor, is found as 
the champion of all measures for the general good. 

Mr. May is a native of Adair county, Missouri, born December 26, 
1859. His parents were James \\'. and Mary A. (Forrest) May. The 
father was born in eastern Tennessee in 1805, a son of William May, 
who was born in Tennessee and was of English lineage. William May 
married a daughter of Governor John Sevier of that state, and among 
their children was James W. May, who after arriving at years of ma- 
turity wedded Miss Mary A. Forrest, who was born in Pike county, 
Missouri, in 1817. Mr. May had been previously married and by the 
first union had three children, while by his marriage to the mother of 
our subject he had ele\en children. In 1844 he came to Iowa, settling 
in Wapello county, and subsequently he removed to Missouri, but in 
1864 he came again to Iowa, this time settling in Appanoose county. 
In 1868 he took up his abode in Cincinnati, and the northwest part of 
the town has been built upon a part of his old farm. Throughout his 
active business career he carried on agricultural pursuits and thus pro- 
vided a good living and comfortable home for his family. In his politi- 
cal views he was a Republican. He died in 1876, and his wife sur- 
vived until 1882, when she was also called to her final rest. 

When but a lad John H. May came with his parents to Cincinnati, 
wlicre he was reared and educated, and in his youth he worked upon his 
father's farm. In early manhood he engaged in teaching schcK-)l and 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. (i'J 

later purcliased tlie old homestead from the other heirs and laid it out in 
town lots, making several additions to Cincinnati. To a considerable 
extent he has engaged in the real estate business, and his property invest- 
ments and sales have brought to him a desirable profit. In 1893 he pur- 
chased the Review, which he has since published. It is a well edited 
journal, neat and attractive in appearance, and has secured a good circu- 
lation. He also conducts a job printing business in connection with the 
publication of the paper and has a well ecpiipped newspaper plant. 

In 1894 Mr. j\Iay was united in marriage to Miss Anna Fox, a 
daughter of John and Sarah (Boyles) Fox. Mrs. May was born in 
Cincinnati and by her marriage she has become the mother of three chil- 
dren : Elbridge Fox, Jennie Pauline and Erma Josephine. The par- 
ents hold membership in the Christian church, and Mr. May is a mem- 
ber of the Modern W'oodmen camp. In his political views he is a Re- 
pulilican and publishes his paper in the interest of that party. Well 
known in the community in which almost his entire life has been passed, 
he has become 'a popular as well as widely known citizen, and his ef- 
forts in behalf of his town have proved of value to the community. 

N.\THAN ROBERTS. 

Nathan Roberts was one of the first settlers of Iowa, belonging 
to that band of brave pioneers who faced the hardships, trials and dan- 
gers incident to life in a wild region in order to lay the foundation for 
the present development and progress of the state. His name should 
certainly be recorded upon the pages of Monroe county's history and it 
is with pleasure, therefore, that we present the history of his life to our 
readers. He was born in Bradford county, Pennsylvania, November 



TO BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

7. 1816, a son of Nathan and Jane (Griffin) Roberts. Tlie father fol- 
lowed farming throughout his entire life and never left Pennsylvania, 
dying there on tlie _'5th of Octoher. 1858: his wife has also long since 
passed away. 

Nathan Roberts spent the first twenty-three years of his life in 
tlie Kevstone state, and then, attracted by the possibilities and business 
oi)pi>rtunities afforded by the then far west, he came to Iowa in 1839, 
first settling in Van Buren county. This was many years before the 
admission of the state into the Union, in fact, with the exception of 
a few settlers who had locatetl along the river, the entire country was 
wild and unimproved, the great prairies stretching for miles, covered 
with the native grasses and unoccupied save by the red men. After 
he had completed his education in the schools of Pennsylvania he had 
worked at farming, and after reaching this state he again resumed ag- 
ricultural pursuits, which he carried on up to the time of his death. 

Mr. Roberts brought his bride to his pioneer home. He was mar- 
ried in 1838, near Columbus. Ohio, to Miss Sally Ann Runnels, a daugh- 
ter of Snow and Mary Runnels. Her father, who was born August 8. 
1796. passed away in 1840. at the comparatively early age of forty-four 
years, but the mother reached an advanced age, her birth occurring on 
the 15th of December, 1799. and her death on the 27th of May, 1872. 
The children in the Runnels family were as follows : Huram and 
Nancy, both deceased ; Mrs. Roberts, of this sketch ; Stephen Perry, 
who has also passed away: Lemuel, deceased; Roderick, who is living 
in Marysville, Iowa; and Solan, deceased. One brother, Charles Run- 
nels, resides upon a farm adjoining that upon which Mrs. Roberts makes 
her home. He settled in Monroe county in 1843 and was married five 
years later in 1848, in this state, to Miss Diana llarter, but his wife is 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 71 

now deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Roberts were born ten cbildren, five 
sons and five daug'hters, namely : Tryon, Allen, Charles, deceased ; 
Helen. Mary J., Lemuel, William, deceased; Lfjvilia C, Sarah A., and 
Harriet L. 

It is with her daughter, Mrs. James Hinds, that Mrs. Roberts now 
makes her home. Mrs. Hinds had the following children: Allen 
Theodore, Richard Nathan, tleceased ; James E., who has also passed 
away, and Lulah May. 

Tlnnugh torty-sexen years Nathan Roberts carried on agricult- 
ural pursuits in Iowa. He came to Monroe county in 1846 and from 
that time until his death was numbered among the leading citizens 
ui this portion of the state, taking an active and helpful part in every- 
thing pertaining to general progress and improvement. He was deeply 
interested in what was accomplished in the county as it emerged from 
its primitive conditions to take its place among the leading counties of 
the commonwealth. He sat upon the first jury ever convened in Albia 
and for a numl>er of years served as constable of his township and also 
as township trustee, discharging his duties in a straightforward, capable 
manner. He gave his political support to the Democracy. It was in 
March, 1876, that Mr. Roberts was called to his final rest and through- 
out this portion of the state his death was deeply regretted. The county 
certainly owes a debt of gratitude to him and to other pioneers who 
came here and bore the hardships of frontier life in order to open up 
this region to ci\'ilization. Mrs. Roberts, a most estimable lady, still 
survives her husband and is living with her daughter, Mrs. Hinds. 
She can relate many interesting incidents concerning the ])ioneer days, 
and her memory f(}rms a connecting link Ijetween the primitive past 
and the pre gressi\e present. 



T'2 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GEXEALOGICAL IllSlOUY. 

ROBERT K. JOHNSOX. 

Robert K. Johnson is well known as a re])resentative of the farm- 
ing interests of Appanoose county. Iowa, and is numbered among the 
early settlers, for thnnigh a half a century lie has lived in this portion 
of this .state. He was born in Mason county, Virginia, January 20, 
1834. a son of James and Margaret (Van Meter) Johnson. The father 
was born in the Keystone state and was a son of John Johnson, a na- 
tive of Ireland. Upon the old home farm in the state of his nativity 
James Johnson was reared, and later married Margaret Van Meter, 
whose birth occurred in Pennsylvania, as did that of her father, John 
Van Meter, who lielonged to an old Pennsylvania Dutch family. In 
1852 the parents of our subject bade adieu to their old home in the east 
and started westward with the hope that the}' might benefit their finan- 
cial condition in one of llie newer states beyond the Mississippi. They 
journeyed until they reached Monroe county, Iowa, where they estab- 
lished their home, becoming pioneer settlers and aiding in laying the 
foundation for the present prosperity and development of the county. 
In religious faith they were connected with the United Brethren church. 
The mother died at the age of sixty-three years, while the father reached 
the age of seventy-two years. To them were born eight children, of 
whom si.x still survive, one having died in infancy. These are Rachel, 
John. Robert K.. Jane, Seth, Eli. William and James E. Eli served 
throughout the Ci\il war as a soldier in the Union army and was held 
a prisoner for a time. He died in Independence. Oregon, September 
2, 1902. 

Robert K. Johnson obtained a common school education and spent 
his early life at farm work when not engaged with the duties of the 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 73 

schoolroom. At the age of eighteen he came to Monroe county, Iowa, 
where he began farming, and here in 1866 he won a companion and 
helpmeet for life's journey, being united in marriage to Miss Lemira 
Tarr. an estimable lady, who was born in Vinton county, Ohio, where 
she pursued her education and spent her girlhood days. Her father, 
Samuel Tarr, was born in Virginia, and died in Augusta, Hancock 
county, Illinois, at the age of seventy years, while her mother, who 
bore the maiden name of Nancy Hollingshead, was born in \'inton 
county, Ohio, where her father located among the first settlers. She, 
too, died in Augtista, Illinois, when seventy-six years of age. Her 
sterling worth was widely acknowledged and she was a devoted member 
of the Christian church. By her marriage she had become the mother 
of six children, five of whom are living, namely : Pinckney, deceased ; 
Mandana, John, Mrs. Johnson, George and Mary. 

Throughout his business career Mr. Johnson has carried on agri- 
cultural pursuits and is today the owner of two excellent farms, compris- 
ing six hundred and twenty acres of the rich soil of Iowa. His home 
place is substantially improved with a good residence, a large barn and 
fine orchard. The plowed fields give promise of golden harvests, and 
pasture and meadow lands furnish feed for the stock both in the winter 
and summer months. The home has been blessed with the presence of 
three children, but he and his wife were called upon to mourn the loss 
of their daughter Gussie, who died December 24, 1901, at the age of 
twenty-nine years. She was greatly beloved for her good (jualities of 
heart and mind, and her loss is deeply felt by her many friends as well 
as by her family. They have two sons, George and Samuel, both of 
whom are living upon the old homesteads in Chariton township, Ap- 



74 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

panoose county, and Monroe township, IMonroe county, devoting their 
energies to farming and stock-raising. 

Mr. Johnson has been very successful in liis Inisiness and as the 
years have passed has added annually to his income until he is now the 
possessor of a handsome competence. At the present time he is living 
retired at the fine home in Moravia, and his rest is well merited and 
fully enjoyed. In politics he is an earnest Republican, and belongs to 
Sumner Post No. 398, G. A. R.. of Moravia, to which he is entitled to 
membership because of the active aid which he rendered to the govern- 
ment in the hour of peril. During the progress of the war of the Re- 
bellion he joined the Eighth Iowa Cavalry, becoming one of the boys 
in blue of Company F. under Captain E. Cummins and Colonel J. 
Dorr. He enlisted June 24, 1863, serving until the close of the war. 
The regiment did much gallant service in the field with the western 
army, forming a part of the rough-rider command. A division of the 
western army was attached to General Sherman's command, and Mr. 
Johnson participated in a numl)er of skirmishes and battles. He was 
taken jirisoner on the 30th of June. 1864. when the army was in the vi- 
cinitv of Atlanta, Georgia, and for three months was incarcerated in 
Andersonville, for one month at Charleston and for some time at Flor- 
ence, South Carolina. During this time he had charge of several teams 
and forty men engaged in drawing water to the prison. He was pa- 
roled at Goldsboro, North Carolina, and returned home on a furlough. 
He received an honorable discharge on the 5th of June, 1865, and re- 
turned to Iowa. Today he is as true and loyal to his duties of citizen- 
ship as he was when he followed the old flag upon southern battle 
fields. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 75 

W. D. KINSER. 

W. D. Kinser, a farmer on section 2, Taylor townsliip, Appanoose 
county, has resided in this section of the state for fifty-five years, and 
therefore the history of its development, progress and improvement is 
well known to him. He was born in Martin county, Indiana, No- 
vember II. 1838. and his ancestry was one noted for industry and hon- 
esty. His father, William Kinser, was born in Virginia, and the 
grandfather, Michael Kinser, was a native of Virginia, and of German 
descent. Emigrating westward, however, he took up his abode in 
Lawrence county, Indiana. William Kinser was reared and married in 
the Old Dominion and with his wife, Catherine, who was born in 
Kentucky and belonged to an old Virginian family, he went to Illinois 
in 1846, making the journey by team and wagon. That was the year 
in which Iowa was admitted to the Union. Mr. Kinser settled in Knox 
county, Illinois, where he remained for one season, and in 1847 came 
to Monroe county, Iowa, taking up his abode near the present town of 
Moravia. Here he secured government land and made his home by 
developing a wild tract into riclily cultixated fields. He voted witli the 
Democracy, being an adv(x:ate of the principles set forth by Jackson. 
His death occurred in Union county, Iowa, when he was eighty-four 
years of age, and his wife passed away at the age of sixty. She was a 
member of the Methodist Episcopal church and wJis loved by all for her 
kindness of heart. This worthy couple had nine children : Nancy, 
Tyler and Martha, all deceased; John, George, Malinda, William D., 
Michael, and Elisha. 

William D. Kinser was but nine years of age when the family re- 
moved to Monroe county and upon the home farm he spent his youth, 



TG BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

no event of special importance occurring to vary the routine of farm life 
for him during' that period. In one of the primitixe schix)ls of the lo- 
cality he obtained his education. The little "temple of learning" was 
built of log.s and had a puncheon floor, while an immense fireplace occu- 
pied one entire end of the room. In June, 1863, Mr. Kinser offered 
his services as a defender of the Union, enlisting in Company F, Eighth 
Iowa Ca\alrv, under Captain E. Cummins and Colonel J. B. Dorr. 
The regiment made a most gallant war record and was with the rough 
riders of the western army. For a time they were under (General Mc- 
Cook's command and did much active service in the field. Mr. Kinser 
was captured at Xewnan, Georgia, on the 30th of July, 1864, and was 
confined in the rebel prisons at Andersonville and Florence, South 
Carolina, and at Wilmington. From the last named place he succeeded 
in making his escape and after walking for three days reached the 
Union lines. He was then sent to Annapolis, Maryland, by way of 
St. Louis, Missouri, and was granted a furlough, and before his leave 
of absence expired the war was ended and he was honorably discharged 
at Davenport, May 31, 1865. Returning to his home he resumed gen- 
eral farming. 

Mr. Kinser was married at the age of nineteen to Nancy J. Sumner, 
a native of Indiana, and a daughter of James and Orplia Sumner. 
Samuel Sumner, a brother of Mrs. Kinser, was killed in the Union army 
during the Civil war, and the Grand Army Post at Moravia was named 
in his honor. Mrs. Nancy J. Kinser passed away in 1862, and in 1876 
Mr. Kinser was again married, his second union being with Mrs. J. M. 
Williams, who was then ihc widow of Larkin Williams. She had two 
children by her first marriage : Mrs. Idie Williams, of Taylor town- 
ship, Appanoose county ; and Rolla, deceased. Mrs. Kinser was born 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORV. 77 

in Ohio, but was educated in Iowa. Her fatlier. Joel Skinner, now de- 
ceased, became one of tlie earl)- settlers of the state, locating here in 
1854. His wife, who Iwre the maiden name of Rachel CiietAvorth, has 
also passed away. In their family were seveii children, six of whom 
are yet li\ing: Harper, who was a soldier of the Union army and is 
now lixing in Oregon: John; Thomas, of Appanoose county; Joseph, 
who resides in Utah; Mrs. Matilda Cook, and Mrs. Samantha Carleton, 
of Texas. The father was a farmer and a minister of the Baptist 
church and his life was one of irreproachable honesty and uprightness. 
Mr. Kinser gives his political support to the Republican party and 
labors earnestly for its growth and success. When twenty-one years 
of age he was elected a justice of the peace and served as county super- 
visor in Monroe county. He was also postmaster of Moravia under 
President Harrison for four years and in the dischai\ge of his official 
duties has ever been found prompt and faithful. He belongs to Sum- 
ner Post No. 398, G. A. R., and also to the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows, and his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the 
Presbyterian church. Ills business acti\ity has always been in the line 
of agriculture, and he owns one hundred and twenty acres of valuable 
land, two miles from the town of Mora\ia. Upon this he has a good 
house and all necessary outbuildings for the shelter of grain and stock, 
and a glance at his place will indicate to the visitor that the owner is 
careful, systematic and progressive in his work. 

H. C. GATE. 

On a farm on section 22. Taylor township, Ap])anoose county, 
resides H. C. Gate, whose landed possessions comprise two hundred and 



78 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

twenty acres. For thirty-six years he has lived in the county and is a 
representative of one of its pioneer famihes. His birth occurred in 
Mercer county. Missouri. October 22, 1858, and liis fatlier, Samuel 
Cate, was born in Sevier county, Tennessee, while the grandfather, 
William Cate, became one of the early settlers of Iowa. He took up his 
abode in Appanoose county and later resided with a daughter in Mer- 
cer county, Missouri, where his last days were passed. Samuel Cate 
became a farmer and when he had reached years of maturity he chose 
Miss Lucinda ^^'icker for a companion and helpmate on life's journey. 
She was born in North Carolina, and tliey began their domestic life in 
Mercer county. Missouri, where they lived for some time. Mr. Cate 
devoted his energies to agricultural pursuits, thus providing for his 
family. His wife died in Mercer county, Missouri, at the age of twenty- 
five years, leaving two children: James M., a resident of Centerville, 
Iowa; and H. C. Cate. The father was a second time married and re- 
sided upon a farm in Taylor, in York county, Nebraska. He died 
while on a trip to attend a funeral, aged sixty-four years. He deposited 
his ballot for the Democratic nominees and he was a worthy meinber of 
the Primitive Baptist church. 

H. C. Cate spent the days of his childhood in Mercer county, Mis- 
souri, until eight years of age, when the family moved to Appanoose 
county, Iowa, and as his age and strength increased he gave more and 
more time and attention to farm work. In his youth he pursued his 
studies in a log schoolhouse, sitting upon a slab bench, but later in a 
more modern school house. When twenty-two years of age Mr. Cate 
took up his abode upon his present farm. He sought as a companion 
and helpmate for life's journey Miss Laura Hiatt, of Taylor township, 
who was born and reared here, her parents having been among the early 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GEXEALOGICAL HISTORY. "9 

settlers of the township. Tlicy took up tlieir aluule Iiere in 1845 hcfore 
the admission of Iowa into tlie Union. Her fatlier, Lewis Hiatt, was 
born in Stokes county, Xortli Carolina, and he married Rachel Swaim, 
whose birth occurred in the same locality. The}- journeyed westward 
to Iowa with a one-horse wagon, bringing with them their household 
goods and one child. O. A. Hiatt. After spending the winter in Ilcnry 
county, they came the following spring to Appanoose county and 
settled upon what is now the old Hiatt homestead. Here the 
mother is still living at the ripe old age of eighty-one years, but the 
father passed away September 5, 1887. at the age of sixty-seven years. 
He had always carried on agricultural pursuits, and his life was so 
honorable and upright that he enjoyed the unqualified confidence of 
those with whom lie came in contact. He voted with the Republican 
party. His widow, who has lived upon the old homestead farm for 
fifty eight years, became the mother of eight children, namely: O. A.; 
Lydia A.; Mrs. Sarah Andrews; Mrs. Emeline Williams, of Rocky 
Ford, Colorado: Preston S. : Laura, now the wife of our subject; 
Mary J., who died at the age of sixteen years, and Martha, who passed 
away at the age of seven years. 

Mr. Cate now has a farm of two hundred and twenty acres; he 
has made a specialt}- of the raising of sheep for a number of years. He 
has known no other occupation than that of farming, nor has he de- 
sired to engage in other pursuits, because he has found this profitable, 
and tlirough his untiring energy and well directed labor he has gained 
a comfortable competence. To him and his wife has been born a 
daughter, Lucinda Rachel, who is yet living. They lost one son, Sam- 
uel Zelvin, who died at the age of eight years, and three children who 
died in infancy. Mr. Cate belongs to the l'rimiti\e Baptist church and 



80 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

in politics is independent, taking little active part in political affairs 
and never seeking or desiring office. He is yet in the prime of life and 
alreadv has achie\ed creditable success, which augiirs well for his 
future. 



A. E. TUCKER. 

A. E. Tucker is living on section 21, Taylor township, and is one of 
the representative agriculturists and leading citizens of Appanoose 
county, serving at the present time as a member of the board of super- 
visors. He was born in Henry county, Iowa, July 24, 1848, and is a son 
of John Tucker, who came to this county when Iowa was a territor}-. His 
birth occurred in Forsyth county. North Carolina, on the 31st of .Aug- 
ust, 18 1 5. His father, Francis Tucker, was born in Maryland and was 
of English descent. He married Millie Cruse, a native of North 
Carolina, in which state her entire life was passed. After her de- 
mise Francis Tucker came west to Iowa and died in .\ppanoose county, 
at the advanced age of eighty-four years. John Tucker was reared in 
the state of his nativity and after arriving at years of maturity wedded 
Sarah Swaim. In 1844 they started westward with one horse and a 
wagon, thus traveling across the countn' to Iowa, where the}- ar- 
rived in 1844, settling in Henry county. The state had not then been 
admitted to the Union and much of the territorj' was still in its primi- 
tive condition, the work of civilization and progress having scarcely 
been begun. In 1849 the Tucker family came to Douglas township, 
Appanoose county, and the father built a log house and made a home for 
his family, carrying on agricultural pursuits until his life's labors were 
ended in death. He voted with the Republican party and both he and 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. SI 

his wife were IMetiiodists in religious faith. Mrs. Tucker passed away 
at the age of sixty-five years. They were the parents of nine cliildren, 
namely: Andrew ].. a resident of Douglas township, Appanoose 
county; Alson E.. whose name introduces this record; Mrs. Nancy J. 
Hiatt; Eli F. ; Mrs. Rachel C. Hicks, deceased : Mary E., deceased; Lem- 
entine H., and Mrs. Cynthia E. Rose, deceased. One child, Susanna, 
died in Henry count}-, Iowa, at the age of eighteen months. 

A. E. Tucker was reared in the usual manner of farmer lads of 
the period. He pursued his education in a log school house, which was 
seated with slab benches, while the other furniture was equally primitive. 
However, his knowledge has been supplemented by reading and ob- 
servation since leaving the schoolroom. His training at farm work 
was not meager, and in field and meadow he received practical experi- 
ence to prepare him for life's responsible duties. He remained upon 
the home farm with his father until twenty-seven years of age, when he 
was united in marriage to Miss Izora T. Andrews, who was born upon 
the farm where she is now living. Her father, Silas Milton Andrews, 
was one of the pnmiinent early settlers of .\ppanoose co^mt^■, but has 
now passed away. He was born in Giles county, Tennessee, in 1808, 
and was a son of James Andrews, whose birth occurred in North Caro- 
lina and who wedded Nancy McCorkle. Bf)th James Andrews and his 
wife died in Tennessee, and it was in that state that Silas M. Andrews 
was reared and married, the lady of his choice being Miss Nancy 
Woods, who was born in Giles county in 1812. She is now living 
with our subject at the advanced age of ninety years and is the oldest 
settler of the county. Mr. and Mrs. Andrews came to the county in 
1 85 1, taking up their alx)de upon the farm which is now the home of 
Mr. and Mrs. Tucker. With characteristic energy the father began 



82 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

the development of the fields and continued his farm work up to the 
time of his death, wiiich occurred when he was seventy-seven vears of 
age. By trade he was a saddler and followed that pursuit in connection 
with farming in Tennessee. His political allegiance was given the 
Democracy and in religious faith he was a Protestant. In the family 
were seven children, of whom three are now living, namelv: (ieorge, 
a resident of Juniata, Nebraska; Harvey M.. of Livingston, Iowa; and 
Mrs. Izora T. Tucker. Four of the number ha\e passed away, namely : 
James, Marilla, John M. and C. P. The last named was a soldier of the 
Civil war and enlisted in the Eighteenth Iowa Infantry and died in a 
rebel prison at Tyler, Texas. 

To our subject and his wife have been born four children: 
Louisa S., the wife f)f Thomas Long, of Appanoose count v ; John M., 
who wedded Chl<ie Z. Clancy, of Taylor township, and Cephas E., who 
resides at home and is one of the successful school teachers of the 
county. They also lost one son, Frank \\'., who died at the age of 
four years. Mr. Tucker gives his earnest support to the Republican 
party, for he believes that its platform contains the best elements of 
good government. He is a leader in Republican ranks in this locality, 
has served as township trustee and assessor and for three years has 
been a member of the board of supervisors. His wife belongs to the 
Presbyterian church and both are people deserving the high regard in 
which they are uniformly held. Mr. Tucker has always been true and 
loyal to the ofhcial duties entrusted to his care and at the same time he 
has carefully conducted his agricultural interests. He owns one hun- 
dred and sixty acres, constituting one of the fine farms of Taylor town- 
ship. Everything upon the place is in keeping with the progressive 
.spirit of the times, and no modern iniprovement is lacking, the latest 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 83 

improved machinery being used in caring for his fields, which are now 
under a high state of cuUivation. He also has upon his place an ex- 
cellent orchard and good grades of stock, in fact, he is one of the suc- 
cessful farmers of Taylor township, Appanoose county. 



JAMES DRURY. 

One of the boys in blue of the Civil war, and at all times a loyal 
citizen, true to the interests of county, state and nation, James Drury 
is numbered among the representative citizens of Monroe county. He 
was born in county Clare, Ireland, on the 15th of August, 1835, and is 
a son of Michael and Mar)^ (Sullivan) Drury, also natives of the Em- 
erald Isle. When our subject was but eleven months old his father 
died, and in 1845 the mother and son joined an older brother in 
America, the latter, John Drury. residing iii Chester, Vermont. The 
mother's death occurred in Springfield, that state, at the age of seventy- 
five years. 

In 186 1 James Drury offered his services to his adopted country, 
enlisting in Company C, Fourth Vermont Regiment, under Captain 
Farr, and at the close of his three years' term he re-enlisted and served 
until the close of the war, receiving his discharge on the 6th of Augaist, 
in Montpelier, and was mustered out of service at Brattleboro, Ver- 
mont. He was made color bearer and sergeant of his regiment, was in 
many of the hard fought battles of the war, and was at all times a faith- 
ful and intrepid soldier. After a long service he applied for a fur- 
lough, and his application was endorsed by his captain in the follow- 
ing words: "I have the honor to request that a furlough of twenty- 
five days be granted to Sergeant James Dniry, Company C, Fourth 



84 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

Regiment. Vermont X'olunteer Infantry, and I will beg leave to repre- 
sent that on making this request I have a desire to promote the inter- 
est of tlie service, as well as to pay a well earned tribute to existing 
merit. This veteran soldier, the color bearer of the regiment, has 
served from the commencement of the war until the jjresent time with a 
singleness of purpose — a heart ever faithful lo the great principles for 
which we have been contending. Ever foremost among his comrades, 
he has carried the colors through victory and defeat. Disregarding 
danger, he has led his regiment in all the battles it participated in from 
May 5. 1864. to October 19. 1864. In the Wilderness, at Spottsyl- 
vania. Cold Harlior and Petersburg, his coolness and bravery in action 
commanded the respect of his officers as well as the faith and confi- 
dence of his comrades. In the engagement near the Weldon Railroad, 
when misfortune overtook the greater part of his regiment, he saved 
its colors. But more particularly did he distinguish himself in the bat- 
tles in the Shenandoah valley. Charleston, Berr^ville. Fisher's Hill and 
Cedar Creek being names impressed upon the memories of his com- 
rades in common with his. Charles G. Fisher." Tiie application was 
approved as follows : "Approved for twenty-five days, and respect- 
fully forwarded. Sergeant Drury has proved himself one of the best 
soldiers of the brigade, under every specification mentioned in said 
order and on every battlefield which his regiment has served upon, 
and especially in saving the colors of his regiment June 2^. on the Wel- 
don Railroad, when almost the entire regiment was captured. George 
P. Foster." The furlough was granted as follows: Headquarters 
Army of the Potomac, February 27. 1865. — Sergeant James Drury, 
Company C, Fourth Vermont Volunteers, is granted a furlough for 
twenty-five days as a reward for soldiery conduct. — By command of 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GEXEALOGICAL HISTORY. 85 

Major General Parke. — (Signed) Chas. E. Pease, Assistant Adjutant 
General. For his l)ra\ery at the battle of Weldon Railroad, on the 23d 
of June, 1864, ^^''- l^rury was rewarded with a medal hy a special 
act of congress. As a further reward for his services Sergeant Drury 
was tendered tlie position of second sergeant of Company D, Fourth 
Regiment Vermont X^olunteer Infantry, by Governor J. Gregory Smith, 
of Vermont. 

After tlie close of the war our subject returned to his old home 
in N'ermont, where he remained until his removal to Albia, Iowa, on the 
15th uf October, 1869. In his youth he learned the stone-mason's 
trade, which he followed for many years in the Green Mountain state. 
When he arrived in Iowa, in company with his young wife, his entire 
capital consisted of two dollars and fifty cents, and out of this amount 
he was obliged to pay fift}' cents to ha\-e his trunk taken to his home, 
eight miles north of .Mbia. He immediately resumed work at his 
trade in this locality, and now owns his present farm of two hundred 
acres of fertile and well improsed land. On the 28th of December, 
1868, in VermiMit, he was united in marriage to Jane Daugherty, a 
native of Ireland, and they have become the parents of ten children, all 
of whom are living. Charles Thomas is a stone mason in Albia. John 
Sherman has two children, a son and a daughter. Two daughters of 
the family, Kathryn and Mary, are engaged in teaching school ; two of 
the sons, Harry and Logan, are attending school in Des Moines ; another 
daughter, Dora, keeps house for her two brothers in Des AToines; a 
son, Emmett, is a railroad man in Seattle; and two sons, Edward Leo 
and James A., are at home. The famih- are meml>ers of the Catholic 
church at Albia. In political matters Mr. Drury is a life-long Republi- 
can, and his first presidential vote was cast for Lincoln in his second 



86 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

race for the presidency. In his fraternal relations he is a member of 
the Masonic order, being connected with Lovilia Lodge. He is also 
color bearer of the Bluff Creek Veterans" Association, and is a member 
of Orman Post No. 123, G. A. R., of Albia. At the meeting in which 
Mr. Drury was elected to the position of standard bearer, Comrade 
E. C. Canning delivered the following well chosen words: '"Your, 
election by the spontaneous and unaiiinmus voice of your comrades as 
standard bearer, into whose hands we now entrust this beautiful ban- 
ner, a gift from friends we deeply love and highly honor, surely calls 
forth some expression why so hnnored. You, an adopted citizen of our 
country, manfully stood for its defense in many well fought battles, 
saving the flag of your regiment at the Weldon Railroad, carrj'ing it 
over the broken lines of the enemy at the charge of Cedar Creek, and 
again bringing off the colors in the battle of the Wilderness, and bear- 
ing yourself so gallantly that a grateful country has conferred on you 
its highest badge of military honor. We give to your keeping this 
flag that our sons may emulate your noble deeds, and if war shall ever 
darken the horizon of our beloved land that they may with brave and 
manly hearts rally to her defense and man her ships, and that our flag 
shall speak defiance to her enemies and ever wave the banner of the 
free over the home of the brave." 



GEORGE W. ROBINSON. 

By general consensus of opinion of all his acquaintances, the late 
George W. Robinson was a good farmer, a good friend and a good 
neighbor. As he treated all men well in life, so all men mourn him, 
now that he is no more, and this brief biography is intended as a memo- 




GEORGE W. ROBINSOK. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GEXEALOGICAL HISTORY. «9 

rial whicli may be tiled away by his family and friends, who regret his 
loss and respect his memory. 

George \\". was the son of Richard G. and Sarah Jane Robinson, 
natives of \\'est Virginia. The father was a farmer and stock raiser 
and pursued that occupation in West Virginia with a fair measure of 
success. His son. George \V. Robinson, was horn in Harrison county, 
West Virginia, September i6, 1831, and was in early manhood when he 
came to Iowa in 1855. He first located in Howard county, but soon 
afterward went to Davis and finally found permanent residence in Ap- 
panoose count}". In 1862 he purchased and took possession of the farm 
near Dean, which he cultivated with success imtil the time of his death, 
on the 6th of May, 1891. 

On ISIay 30. 1861. George W. Robin.son was united in marriage 
with Miss Sarah Louisa, daughter of John and Ann Bond, natives of 
Ireland, who came to the United States shortly after their marriage. 
Their daughter, Sarah Louisa, was born in Appanoose county, Iowa, 
October 28, 1846. and has spent her whole life in the confines of her 
native county. Her father, who came to Iowa at a period sufficiently 
early to entitle him to the name of "first settler," ended his days in 
1883, and his wife passed from the scenes of earth two years later. In 
this connection it is interesting to remark that one of their tlaughters 
and a sister of Mrs. Robinson was the first woman in Iowa to whom a 
marriage license was issued. Since the death of her husband Mrs. 
Robinson has owned the farm of one hundred and seventy-two acres of 
excellent land near Dean, but she rents most of the estate and does 
not worry herself with the practical details of agriculture. 

Mr. and Mrs. Robinson had five children, whose names are thus 
recorded: Albert W., married Mary A. Phares, of Centerville; Clara 



90 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

L., wife of T. M. Dickinsun, of Xew Virginia, Iowa; Minnie A., wife 
of Frank Hatton, of this township; Lula May, wife of James O. Pat- 
terson, of Dean: and Sarah F., deceased. I\Irs. Robinson is a member 
of the Christian church and participates actively in tlie reHgious and 
philanthropic work devolving upon the congregation. As she is in 
easy circumstances, of a social and hospitable disposition, her household 
is headquarters for her many friends, and a pleasant place for visitors 
to sojourn. 



PAUL C. OEHLFR. 

Paul C. Oeliler is a farmer of Taylor township, living on section i. 
He was born in \\'urteniberg, Germany, on the 23(1 of September, 
1823, and among his ancestry were many men prominent in the military 
circles of the fatherland. The history of Wurtemberg back through 
five hundred years makes mention of the Oehlers. The parents of our 
subject were Christopher and Christina (W'alderich) Oehler, who in 
1831 crossed the Atlantic to America, bringing with them their five 
children, but one of the number died while they were upon the sea. 
Both Mr. and Mrs. Oehler passed away in Tuscarawas county. Ohio, 
where Mr. Oehler was carrying on agricultural pursuits. After be- 
coming an American citizen he had endorsed the Democratic party, and 
in religious faith was a Moravian. His death occurred when he was 
seventy-two years of age and his wife passed away at the age of 
sixty-eight years. The members of their family were: Gotlieb F., 
Paul C, Joanna, Louisa, Elizabeth, Pauline, Emanuel and Ernest 
Frederick. 

Paul C. Oehler was onlv seven vears of age at the time of the emi- 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 91 

gration of the family to the new world. He was reared upon a farm in 
Ohio and acquired his education in the schools of that state. When 
twenty-three years of age he went to Wyandotte, Kansas, with a Mor- 
avian colony, or mission, and there engaged in farming for tlie colony, 
for eight years, after which he went to Arkansas. On the 5th of Feb- 
ruary, 1863, he joined the Union army, enlisting in Fayetteville, Wash- 
ington county, Arkansas, as a member of Company I. First Arkansas 
Regiment, under Captain William Hevington. The captain was killed 
by bushwhackers, so that First Lieutenant Morrison was in command 
most of the time. Mr. Oehler lived in a Confederate neighborhood for 
eighteen months before he enlisted and served as a member of the home 
guard for some time. He saw much of the rebel element in the south 
and because of his Union sentiments he had many narrow escapes. For 
fourteen months he remained with the army and participated in the 
battle of Fayetteville, where he was injured by the bursting of a shell 
at his side. He was then honorably discharged at Fort Smith, Arkan- 
sas, April 25, 1864, on account of his disability, after which he re- 
turned to his home. 

It was in that year that Mr. Oehler came to x\ppanoose county, 
Iowa. Here he has two hundred and eighty-eight acres of rich and 
productive land and his farm is supplied with all modern equipments. 
There is a good residence, substantial barns and a bearing orchard, and 
his fields annually return to him excellent harvests. He has fine horses 
and cattle upon his place, and owns in addition to his plowed land sixty 
acres of timber land. In 1852 Mr. Oehler was united in marriage to 
Miss Marie Benade, who was reared and educated in Saxony, Ger- 
many. In that country her parents died and at the age of twenty-four 
years she came to the United States. By her marriage she has be- 



92 BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

come the mother of six children: Augustus Morse, Ellen J., Henrj' 
/., Charles E. and Ed. F. They also lost one child, Lucius, their first 
born. The parents hold membership in the Moravian church. Mr. 
Oehler is a member of the Grand Army post in Moravia. His politi- 
cal support is given to the Republican party and while he has never 
sought or desired office he is interested in the success of the political 
principles in which he believes. He is frank, genial and jovial in man- 
ner, and the sterling traits of his character have gained for him many 
friends. 



JAMES A. HOLSTEINE. 

Almost a hundred years ago, or to speak more definitely, during the 
second decade nf the nineteenth century, there lived in old Virginia a 
worthy couple whose names were George and Annie (Beeler) Holsteine. 
The husband was a hatter by trade, and this was the means he used to 
"keep the wolf from the door" and pro\ide for the wants of a rapidly 
increasing family, a task which he sometimes found a difficult one, 
owing to lack of business and scarcity of customers. Eventually he 
became discouraged and concluded to try for a betterment of fortune 
in the new state which had then but recently been admitted into the 
Union. So gathering about him his wife and little ones, together 
with the scanty household goods, he started on the weary journey 
across mountains, down rivers and over roadless forests to the wilderness 
northwest of the Ohio, known as southern Indiana. It was in 1827 that 
this trif) was made, and when Cleorge Holsteine arrived at his destination 
he bought some of the government land which was then being sold 
ver)' cheap and established his f.imily in a log cabin thereon. From 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 03 

that time he supported them by working this Indiana farm. The 
mother died in Iowa, and later he died in Bloomington, Indiana. 

James A. Holsteine. the third in a family of seven children, was 
born in Virginia, December i8, 1822, and was only five years old when 
the memorable journey was undertaken to the wilds of Indiana. He 
grew up in the neighborhood where his father settled and remained 
there until he had completed the twenty-seventh year of his age. About 
that time he began to think of moving farther west, and in 1849 set 
out for a long and uncertain trip for the country beyond the great 
Father of Waters. He traveled through Iowa until he reached Davis 
county, and after looking around awhile concluded that was a good 
place for a poor man to locate. Consequently a place was picked out 
near what is now the town of Moulton, and here Mr. Holsteine set to 
work in earnest on a place he had secured. The working of this farm 
in Davis county occupied his attention until 1894, when he purchased 
his present home. Not being able to buy land at first, he secured em- 
ployment by the month on the farms of other people, and by these jobs, 
supplemented by splitting rails for so much a hundred, he supix)rted 
himself and saved a little money until in time he was able to buy land 
of his own. He continued to be a resident of Davis county until 1894, 
when he purchased his present home in Appanoose county, just seven 
miles from his former place and a short distance west of Moulton. The 
property of different kinds now owned by Mr. Holsteine shows that he 
did not waste his time in idleness or neglect any opportunity to better 
his condition. In fact he has an abundance of this world's goods and 
is able to spend his declining years in comfort, cheered by the attentions 
of an affectionate family and the kind words of the friends he has 
gained during a long and blameless life. On October 25, 1870, he 



9-i BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

married Xancv Caroline Toombs, who uncomplainingly shared the hard- 
ships of earlier years, and is now the joyous participant in the good 
things which have come to them as the result of ceaseless toil and en- 
deavor. Misses Grace and Ruth Ann. their only children, are at home, 
and they assist in dispensing the hospitality and kindly greetings which 
await all friends who visit at the Holsteine homestead. 

WILLIAM SMITH. 

Perhaps every country on the face of the globe has sent its rep- 
resentatives to the new world, but there is no element in our American 
citizenship more justly valued than that which has come from the mother 
country — England. Mr. Smith was born in the northern part of the 
"merrie isle." in July, 1826, and is a son of William and Jane Smith, 
who were also natives of that country. By trade the father was a 
shoemaker and followed that pursuit in order to obtain a living for his 
wife and cliildren. He died about forty-five years ago and his wife 
forty years ago. Both were members of the established church of 
England. In the family were seven children, of whom Thomas and 
James became residents of Lovilia and there died. 

William Smith was reared in his native country and when a young 
man heard what proved to him interesting tales of America and its 
possibilities. Attracted by the opportunities of the new world he bade 
adieu to home and friends in 1850 and sailed for New York, whence 
he made his way into the interior of the countr\-, settling first in Ohio, 
north of Marietta. There he remained for eight years, after which 
he removed to Illinois, taking up his abode in Macoupin county. He 
was a cabinet maker bv trade and for three months he worked at Mar- 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 95 

tin's Ferry, West Virginia, for Mr. Hussey, who was the real inventor 
of the McCormick binder and became a partner of Mr. McCormick, 
but the latter not only got credit for the invention but through the sale 
of the product became a very wealthy man, while Mr. Hussey died a 
poor man. After leaving Mr. Hussey's employ Mr. Smith was a resi- 
dent of Morgan county, Ohio, until his removal to Illinois and there 
he resided until 1862, when he came to Monroe county, Iowa, since 
which time he has lived in Monroe county. He first located in Bluff 
Creek township, where he carried on farming until 1875, when he re- 
moved to a farm in Union township just east of Lovilia. For a num- 
ber of years he carried on agricultural pursuits with success, but now 
a part of his land is rented to tenants, while the remainder is man- 
aged by his sons, and Mr. Smith is living retired in the enjoyment of 
the fruits of his former toil. 

In 1864 occurred the marriage of Mr. Smith and Amanda Myers, 
a daughter of .\lexander and Nancy Myers, the former a native of 
North Carolina and the latter of Kentucky. Mr. and Mrs. Myers had 
nine children; .Mice, William, flcceased ; Jessie, Mary, John, Gertie, 
also deceased ; Thomas, Daniel, and one that died in infancy. The 
children of Mr. and ]\Irs. Smith are: John, Jesse and Gertie. Mrs. 
Smith had two brothers, Clark and Henry, who were soldiers of the 
Civil war, fighting in defense of the stars and stripes. In his S(Kial re- 
lations Mr. Smith was formerly an Odd Fellow, but does not maintain 
active connection with the order at this time. He and his wife have 
attended various churches and are well known people of the commu- 
nity, having a large circle of warm friends. 



96 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

ASA S. BAIRD. 

Among the representative citizens and prominent farmers of Mon- 
roe county none is more deserving of mention in this volume than Asa 
S. Baird, who owns and operates a fine farm of two hundred and forty 
acres on section 34, Mantua township, and on section 3, Urbana town- 
ship. He is one of the honored veterans of the Civil war and an early 
settler of this county, having located here in 1854, when most of the 
land was still in its primitive condition and the work of improvement 
and cultivation had scarcely begun. 

Mr. Baird was born in Harrison county. West Virginia, on the 
6th of April. 1824, and is a son of Adam Baird, a native of Maryland 
and a representative of a good old Scotch family from the highlands. 
By trade the father was a cabinet maker and carpenter, and being a 
good mechanic he always found plenty to do in his line. He was 
married near Little York, Pennsylvania, to Miss Barbara Wilhelm, who 
was born and reared in that state, belonging to a Pennsylvania Dutch 
family. Her father, Frederick \^^ilhelm, was a soldier of the war of 
1812. Leaving the east in 1856, Adam Baird and his wife came to Iowa 
and spent their last days in Monroe county, where he died at the age of 
seventy-five years, and his wife passed away at the age of eighty-three. 
Both were devout members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he 
was a Whig in his political views. Three daughters and one son of their 
family died in Lewis county, West Virginia, and the others were as 
follows: John. Susan, Elijah, Mary, Adam, who died in Iowa; Wil- 
liam, and Asa S. 

Asa S. Baird spent his boyhood and youth in Lewis county. West 
Virginia, and is indebted to its schools for his educational advantages. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GEXEALOGICAL HISTORY. 97 

With his fatlier he learned the cabinet maker's and carpenter's trade, 
which he followed for some time while in the east. At the age of 
twenty-four years he was married in Lewis county, the lady of his 
choice being Miss Sarah Tharp, who has now been to him a faithful 
companion and helpmeet for over half a century. She was born, reared 
and educated in that county, and is a daughter of Hezekiah and Huldah 
(Cox) Tharp, natives of Harrison county. West Virginia, who spent 
their last days in Van Buren county, Iowa. The father, who was a 
farmer by occupation, died at the age of seventy years. His political 
support was given the Democratic party. Tn religious faith he was 
first a Baptist, but later joined the Methodist Episcopal church, in 
which he held the offices of class leader and steward, always taking an 
active and prominent jiart in church work. Of his ten children only two 
are now living: Sarali, the wife of our subject, and William, a resi- 
dent of \'an Buren county, Iowa. Those deceased are Emily. Chris- 
tiann, Nancy. Huldah, Almira. Smith, a son who died in infancy, and 
Mrs. Zadok Chidester. who died February 13, 1903. 

It was in 1854 that Mr. Baird, accompanied by his wife and three 
children, removed from West Virginia to Iowa, the journey consuming 
six weeks, as it was made by horse and wagon, the family spending 
the nights in the public houses along the road. Reaching Monroe 
county. Mr. Baird located in Urbana township about a mile and a half 
from his present home, where he erected a log house and where he 
continued to reside until his remn\al to his present farm in Mantua 
township fourteen years ago. He has erected a fine house upon a natural 
building site, surrounded with shade and ornamental trees: has planted 
an orchard ; l)uilt barns and other outbuildings, and today has one of 
the best improved and most valuable farms in the township. In his 



98 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

farming operations lie has lieen very successful and well merits the 
prosperity that has come to him. 

To Mr. and j\lrs. Baird were born the following children : 
Thomas, who is now engaged in the lumber business in Albia; Mrs. 
Victoria Jenkins, a resident of Van Buren county ; Adam, at home with 
his father; Mrs. Barbara Berr\-. who was formerly a teacher and is 
now living in Wapello cmmty. Iowa; Hezekiah, who died at the age of 
twenty-six years, leaving a widow; "Mrs. Mary Heald, a resident of 
Schuyler county, Missouri; Jennie, at home; and Schuyler C, who as- 
sists his father in the operation of the home farm and is now serving 
as township assessor. The children were all provided with good edu- 
cational privileges and the family is one of which any parents might 
well be proud. 

During the Rebellion Mr. Baird manifested his patriotism and 
loyalty by enlisting, in 1862, in the Thirty-sixth Iowa Volunteer Infan- 
try, under Colonel Kittridge. His company was first commanded by 
Captain Varner and later by Captain Porter. He participated in the 
engagements at Camden and Prairie De Han, besides other battles and 
skirmishes, and was taken prisoner at Marks Mills, being incarcerated 
in the rebel prison at Tyler, Texas, for ten months. After his ex- 
change he returned home on a furlough and later rejoined his regiment 
at White river, Arkansas. At the close of the war he was honorably 
discharged at Da\-enport, Iowa, and returned to Monroe county to re- 
sume the more quiet pursuits of farm life. During his absence his wife 
had bravely carried on the work of the farm and provided for their 
se\'en children, being a noble woman, of patriotic spirit and kindly im- 
pulses. 

Mr. Baird affiliates with the Rejuiblican party and has filled offices 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 99 

in Urbana township, being trustee for several years. For years he was 
a member of the schtxil board. His rehgious faith is manifest by his 
membership in tlie Methodist Episcopal church, and he has ever taken 
a very active part in its work, serving as class leader, steward and su- 
perintendent of the Simday school. His life has been in harmony with 
his professions and he is justly entitled to the respect and confidence so 
freely accorded him. 

H. M. CHIDESTER. 

No history of Monroe county would be complete without mention 
of the Chidester family. Fift}-seven years have passed since they first 
came to the county, having established their home within its borders in 
1846, just as tlie Indians were leaving for the reservations assigned 
them. Great indeed was the difference in the conditions of the county 
at that time from what it is today, most of the land being still in its 
primitive condition and few improvements having been made. 

Mr. Chidester was born in Lewis county. West Virginia, October 
28, 1837, a son of Zadok and Susannah (Tharp) Chidester, who were 
also natives of that county. His paternal grandfather, Holdridge 
Chidester, was born in Virginia of Scotch, English and Welsh ancestry, 
the family being early established in the Old Dominion. He was a 
soldier of the war of 181 J. Zadok Chidester was reared, educated and 
married in the coimty of his natix'ity, his wife being the daughter of 
Hezekiah and Huldah (Cox) Tliarj), who spent tlieir last days in Van 
Buren county, Iowa. Her father was also a native of Virignia and of 
English descent. 

It was in June, 1846, that Zadok Chide.ster brought his family to 



L. of C. 



100 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GEXEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

Iowa, making the journey by boat down the Ohio and up the Mississippi 
rivers to Keokuk. Iowa, whence they proceeded b} ox team to Monroe 
county, locatinj;^ on the farm in Mantua township wliere his widow re- 
sided until her death on tlie 15th of February, 1903. There tlie father 
secured seven hundred acres of fertile and productive land, and after 
building a log house for the accommodation of his family, he at once 
set to work to clear, break and improve his place. Throughout his 
active business life he successfully engaged in general farming and 
stock-raising, but was at length compelled to relinquish active labor on 
account of rheumatism, from which he suffered for many years, but 
being a man of good business and executixe ability he still managed 
his business with remarkable skill. After a useful and well spent Ufe 
he passed away at the age of eighty-six years, honored and respected 
by all who knew him. He was a most hospitable man, the latch-string 
on his door being always out. and no one was ever refused entertain- 
ment at his home. His word was ever considered as good as his bond 
and his advice was often sought by his friends and neighbors. In poli- 
tics he was a Democrat. His estimable wife, who survived him, re- 
sided till her death in the pleasant home he erected upon his farm in 
later years, and was beloved by all who knew her. 

To this worthy couple were born fourteen children, of whom eleven 
are still living, namely: H. M.. of this review: Mrs. Sarah Deyo, of 
Mountain Grove. Missouri: Mrs. Virginia Pittinger. of the same place; 
Leander and Floyd, both residents of Mantua township, this county; 
Mrs. Marietta Perrin. also of Mantua township; Mrs. Huldah Rogers, 
of Nuckolls county. Nebraska ; Elliott, of Tacoma, Washington ; Zadok, 
of Mantua township ; Emery, a well known citizen and prominent stock- 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 101 

man of Urbana township, Monroe county ; and Frank, who lives on the 
old homestead farm. 

The subject of this sketch was a lad of nine years when he ac- 
companied his parents on their removal to lowfa. and being the oldest 
son he soon proved of great assistance to his father in the development 
and improvement of the farm. His education was acquired in an old 
log schoolhouse with slab seats and puncheon floor. He remained 
under the parental roof until twenty-six years of age. when he offered 
his services to the country to assist in crushing out the rebellion, en- 
fisting in February, 1863, in Company A, Thirty-sixth Iowa Volunteer 
Infantrj-, under the command of Colonel Kittridge, Lieutenant Colonel 
Drake and Captain Porter. He was in the battles of Elkins Ford, Cam- 
den, and at Marks Mills was taken prisoner. During the ten months he 
was in the hands of the enemy his rations consisted of but one pint of 
meal per day. After being exchanged he returned home on a furlough 
and later rejoined his regiment at White river, Arkansas. At the close of 
the war he received an honorable discharge from the service and returned 
home to resume farming and stock-raising. 

At the age of twenty-five years Mr. Chidester married Miss Sarah 
Parry, who was born in England but was reared and educated at Cedar 
Creek in Guilford township, Monroe county, Iowa, her parents being 
David and Mar}- (Newman) Parry, also natives of England. By oc- 
cupation her father was a stonemason and farmer. On coming to the 
new world in 1854, he located in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and in 1856 
came to Iowa, making the journey by water, down the Ohio and up the 
Mississippi river to Keokuk. He settled in Guilford township, Monroe 
county, but his last days were spent in Union township, Iowa, where 
he died at the age of seventy-six years. He was an earnest member of 



102 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

the Christian church and a Republican in politics. His wife, who was 
a member of the same church, departed this life at the age of eighty- 
five years. They had eight children, namely : David, who enlisted in 
the Sixty-third Pennsylvania Infantry during the Civil war and died 
in the service; Sarah, the wife of our subject; James M.. Mrs. Mary 
McCauley, Emily, Jennie, Mrs. Martha Peck. Mrs, Maggie Turner. 

In his farming operations Mr. Chidester has steadily prospered and 
is today the owner of a fine farm of four hundred acres, it being one of 
the most desirable tracts in the county. The buildings upon the place 
are of good and substantial character, and its neat and thrifty appear- 
ance indicates the super\ision of a painstaking farmer and man of 
more than ordinary business ability. He follows stock-raising in con- 
nection with general farming. 

Seven children Iiave been born to Mr. and Mrs. Chidester : Lean- 
der, in business in Ottumwa, Iowa: Mrs. Clara Grooms, of Monroe 
county; William and James, both residents of Mantua township; Mrs. 
Anna Wilson, who is also living in that township ; and Ussie, who is 
now a student in Drake College of Des Moines, where she is taking up 
the arts and sciences : she has been a popular and successful teacher and 
spent four years in the Ottumwa high school. Hezekiah died aged two 
years, six months. 

Mr. Chidester maintains relations with his old army comrades 
by his membership in Castle Post No. 313, G. A. R., of .Xvery, and has 
held office in the same. Politically he is a strong Republican, never 
wavering in his allegiance to that party. As an honored pioneer and 
one of the representative men of his community, as well as a loyal de- 
fender of the country during the dark days of the Civil war, he is 
worthy of the high regard in which he is uniformly held. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. Iu3 

SAMUEL FLOYD CHIDESTER. 

Samuel Floyd Chidester. who owns and controls a farm of ninetv- 
five acres on section 27. Mantua township, Monroe county, was born in 
Lewis county, Virginia, July 19, 1846, a representative of one of the old 
families of that state. His paternal grandfather was also born in 
Virginia. The father, Zadok Chidester, likewise a native of that state, 
came to the west at an early period in the development of Monroe county, 
locating here in 1S51. He became an active factor in the agricultural 
development of this portion of the state, and through his labors a rich 
tract of land was improved and transformed into a valuable farm. He 
was united in marriage to Miss Susannah Tharp, who was born, reared 
and educated in Virginia, a daughter of Hezekiah Tharp, of that state. 
Their home farm comprised seven hundred acres of valuable land in 
Monroe county and Mr. Chidester was veni- successful, practical and 
progressive in carrying on the work of the fields and in the raising of 
stock. He possessed excellent business qualifications, and his property 
was the visible evidence of his life of well directed lal>or and enterprise. 
He gave his ix)litical support to the Democracy until his death, which oc- 
curred when he was eighty-three years of age. In the family were 
fourteen children: H. Morgan, who is a prominent citizen of Man- 
tua township and a veteran of the Civil war: Mrs. Sarah N. Deyo, of 
Mountain Grove, Missouri; Mrs. Virginia Pittinger, of that place; S. 
Floyd; Mrs. Hulda Rogers, of Nebraska; Mrs. Marv Perrin, of Man- 
tua township ; America, deceased ; Zadok and Leander, who are resident 
farmers of Mantua township; Elliott, of Tacoma, Washington; Emery, 
a prominent citizen of Urbana township, Monroe county; Frank, who 
is living on the old homestead farm, where his mother died at the ad- 



104 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

vanced age of eighty-one years; Grant, who died at the age of sixteen 
years; and one that died in infancy. 

No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm 
hfe for Samuel Floyd Chidester in his youth. He worked upon the 
farm and gained a practical experience of the best methods of caring for 
the stock and of cultivating the fields. He pursued his .studies in a log 
schoolhouse with slab seats and puncheon floor, and at the age of nine- 
teen years was married to Celestia Stevenson, who was then sixteen 
years of age. They have since traveled life's journey together, shar- 
ing with each other its joys and sorrows, its adversity and prosperity. 
Mrs. Chidester was born in this township and pursued her education 
here. Her father, John Stevenson, one of the early settlers of Mantua 
township, passed away in 1896, while her mother, who bore the maiden 
name of Durliska Bates, passed away in 1879. Their children were as 
follows: Grandison, of Des Moines, Iowa ; George, of Oregon; Charles, 
of Mantua township ; Mrs. Chidester ; Fred, who died on the home farm 
at the age of sixteen years ; Eben, who was accidentally shot at the age 
of twenty-seven years and died as the result of his injury ; an infant 
son died unnamed; Laura Jane, who resides with our subject; and 
Robert, who was killed for his money in California. Mr. Stevenson 
was seventy-nine years of age when called to his final rest, his birth 
having occurred in Ireland in 181 7, while his wife, who was born in 
Ohio, died at the age of sixty-two years. They both held membership 
in the Baptist church and were people of sterling worth. 

Mr. and Mrs. Chidester have had two sons and three daughters. 
Isan, who is a barber of Blakesburg, Iowa, wedded Millie Hampshire, 
of Ottumwa, this state, and they have two sons, Harold and Edmond. 
Susan is the wife of Rile\' Kendall, of Ottumwa, Iowa, and thev have 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 105 

three children, Audrey. (!oldie and Floyd. George, who lives in New 
Mexico, wedded Myrtle Miller and has two sons, Paul and Boyd. Mrs. 
Laura Denning is a resident of Poweshiek county, Iowa, and her chil- 
dren are Loyd and Ona. One daughter, Lavina, was accidentally 
burned to death when three years of age. 

The home farm is pleasant!}- located not far from Albia, on sec- 
tion 27, Mantua township, and comprises ninety-five acres of land, on 
which are found substantial buildings and all modern accessories. Mr. 
Chidester votes with the Democracy and has served as a member of the 
school board. His wife belongs to the Christian Union Club, and his 
moral standard is that of the golden rule, which he practices in his 
daily life, and as a result his career has ever been an honorable and 
upright one, worthy of the confidence and esteem of those with whom he 
has been associated. 



CONRAD DeROSS. 

Conrad DeRoss, who is living on section 15, Mantua township, 
Monroe county, has resided here since 1867. Pennsylvania is the state 
of his nativity, his birth having occurred in Meadville, Crawford county, 
July 20, 1836. His father, Alexander DeRoss, was born in German- 
town, near Philadelphia, and comes of French ancestry, his father hav- 
ing crossed the Atlantic to .\merica with General LaFayette, and aided 
the colonies in their struggle to secure independence at the time 
of the Revolutionary war. He was pleased with the new world 
and after the cessation of hostilities returned to his native country and 
brought his family to Philadelphia. 

Alexander DeRoss served a seven years' apprenticeship at the shoe- 



106 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

maker's trade, and in Meadxille, Pennsylvania, was married to Susan 
Cole, a native of that state and a daughter of Conrad Cole, who was 
also born in Pennsyhania antl represented an old Pennsylvania Dutch 
family. Conrad Cole served as a soldier in the war of i8i2 and was 
present when Commodore Perry achieved his famous victory on the 
lakes. His wife bore the maiden name of Mary Magdalena Deeter, 
and among their children was Mrs. Alexander DeRoss, who by her 
marriage became the mother of seven sons and a daughter : Helen, a 
resident of Meadville, Pennsylvania; Henry, also of that state; and six 
sons who were in the Ci\il war as defenders of the Union cause. Wil- 
liam was a member of the Forty-fifth Missouri and is now living in 
Louisiana. Alexander H. belonged to the One Huiuired and Eleventh 
Pennsylvania Infantry and went with Sherman on the celebrated march 
to the sea, and died in igoo. Conrad was a member of tlie One Hun- 
dred and Fiftieth Pennsylvania Regiment, known as the Bucktails. 
Jonathan G. belonged to the same company and regiment and after being 
four times wounded in liattle was killed at Hatches Run, south of Peters- 
burg. Hiram C. was a member of the One Hundred and Eleventh 
Pennsylvania Infantry and afterward a lieutenant of the Third Pennsyl- 
vania Heiuy Artillery, and at Fortress Monroe he had charge of the 
guards over Jefferson Davis, who was confined there after the close of 
hostilities. Eli was a member of the Third Missouri Light Artillery, 
Battery L, and was afterward an Indian agent who became well known 
in the west and is now a physician in Wichita, Kansas. The father of 
this family passed away at the age of sixty-four years. In politics he 
was a Republican and he belonged to the English Lutheran church. His 
wife, who also held membership with that denomination, died at the age 
of eighty-four years. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 107 

Conrad DeRoss is indebted to the public school system of Craw- 
ford county, Pennsylvania, for the educational privileges he enjoyed. 
He learned the mason's trade in early life and followed that pursuit until 
after the beginning of the Civil war, when, in August, 1862, he responded 
to the country's call for three hundred thousand and joined Company 
H, of the One Hundred and Fiftieth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, 
known as the Bucktails, under the command of Captain James W. H. 
Reisinger and Colonel Langhorn \A'ister. The first lieutenant was C. 
T. Shaw, a veteran of the ]\Iexican war and the second lieutenant was 
George D. V. Sheldon. The subject of this review was in the service 
for three years and was then discharged on account of disability. 

In the fall of 1867 Mr. DeRoss came to Iowa and afterward went 
to the territory of Nebraska, where Indians were numerous, both of 
the Sioux and Cheyenne tribes. These went upon the warpath against 
each other, and there were exciting times in that section of the country. 
On account of poor health Mr. DeRoss removed to White Sulphur 
Springs, Missouri, and later came to Monroe county, Iowa. Here he 
has an excellent farm of fift)--fi\e acres, supplied with all modern 
equipments and underlaid with a rich vein of voal. There is a good 
orchard upon his place, and substantial buildings, and the whole is en- 
closed with well kept fences. 

On April 17, 1861, five days after Fort Sumter was fired upon, 
Mr. DeRoss was married at Meadville, Pennsylvania, to Sarah E. Prall, 
who has been to him a good wife. She was born in Meadville and is a 
daughter of John and Phebe (Smith) Prall; the latter was a daughter 
of one of the soldiers of the war of 1812 and she died in Pennsylvania; 
Mr. Frail, however, is now living in Nemaha, Nebraska. His chil- 
dren are: Mrs. Rosetta Seid, of Nebraska, Mrs. DeRoss and John 



108 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

H., who is living in Oregon. To our subject and his wife have been 
born eleven children: Mrs. Laura E. Green, Belle Prall, Frank, of 
Louisiana; George, who is one of the successful carpenters and photog- 
raphers of Oklahoma: Henry, a carpenter and photographer; Mrs. 
Phebe Rhodes, Mrs. Orpha Lukey, Mrs. Myrtle Kirkendall, Frederick, 
Magretta E., who died at the age of eleven years; and John Alexander, 
who died at the age of eighteen months. Mr. DeRoss has provided his 
children with good educational privileges, realizing how important this 
is as a preparation for life's work. 

An earnest Republican in his political views, Mr. DeRoss has never 
wavered in his support of the principles of the party and has been hon- 
ored with a number of township of^ces. in which he has served with 
capabilitv and fulelity. He belongs to the Grand Army Post at Avery, 
and tlu-ee times has served as its commander, a fact which indicates his 
popularity with his old army comrades. For twenty-eiglit years he 
has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and his 
wife has taken the Rebekah degree. He is a man of intelligence, a 
progressive farmer and an honored old soldier, and as one of tlie worthy 
citizens of Monroe county we gladly present the record of his life to 
our readers. 

LEVI BILLINGS. 

Levi Billings is proprietor of the Springhill dairy farm of Mantua 
township. Monroe county, and is one of the popular, intelligent and 
prosperous citizens of this locality, where he has made his home since 
185 1. He is also entitled to represaitation in this volume because he 
was a loyal soldier of the Union army during the Civil war. His birth 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 109 

occurred in Cleveland. Ciiyalioga county, Ohio, August 30, 1845, and 
the family moved to Williams county in the northwestern part of the 
state when he was an infant. His father, Ed Billings, was born in 
Vermont and was a son of Elias Billings, whose birth occurred in 
Connecticut, and who represented one of the old families of that state. 
His death occurred in the Green Mountain state. It was in Vermont 
that Ed Billings was reared, and when a young man he emigrated 
westward, settling in Cleveland. Ohio. He was married in Cuyahoga 
county to Amelia Gildersleeve, a native of that county and a daugh- 
ter of Joseph Gildersleeve, who was of Pennsylvania Dutch an- 
cestry, and whose wife died during the infancy of Mrs. Billings, who 
was then reared by her uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Beebe. 
In 1851 the parents of our subject arrived in Iowa, having made the 
journey westward by team and wagon. They settled on Miller's Ridge, 
but the father was not long permitted to enjoy his new home, for his 
death occurred in 1855, when he was but thirty-five years of age. He 
left a widow and six children, of whom four are now living, namely : 
Mrs. Dorcas Soles, of Illinois: Levi; William, of Kansas; and Or- 
lando, of Missouri. Those who have passed away were Mrs. Ellen Dodge, 
of Appanoose county; and Anson, who died at the age of forty-nine 
years. The mother long survived her husband and passed away at the 
age of seventy-three years. 

Levi Billings was a little lad of six summers when the family came 
to Monroe county, and he can remember in those days when two to 
five yoke of oxen were driven to the breaking plow. He was earlv 
taught to work, and the habit of industry thus inculcated has been one 
of his salient characteristics in later life. He obtained his education 
in a subscription school, and in 1862 he offered his services to the 



110 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

government, enlisting as a member of Company B. Seventh Iowa Cav- 
alry, under Captain Wilcox and Colonel Summers. He served for 
three years, one month and twelve days as a loyal defender of the 
Union, and in addition to his long experience in the war, he also cast 
his first vote and was married before he was twenty-one years of 
age. He joined the army on the 17th of August, and his regiment 
formed a part of the rough rider command of the western army. He 
marched 4,888 miles over the plains of the west in 1864, and was at 
Fort Kearney, at Julesburg, Colorado, in Utah and at Yankton, South 
Dakota, participating in a number of engagements with the hostile 
Siouxs and Cherokees and other warlike tribes. He had also crossed 
the plains to Pike"s Peak, Colorado, in 1862, driving an o.x team. At 
Omaha, Nebraska, he was honorably discharged and at once returned 
to his home. 

It was on the uth of August, 1866, that Mr. Billings was united 
in marriage to Miss Mary Tyrrell, a daughter of Oliver Tyrrell, who 
came to the west in 1845 from Lorain county, Ohio, with a team and 
wagon. Her mother bore the maiden name of Melvina Johnson and 
was born in \'irginia. The father carried on agricultural pursuits in 
Iowa until his life's labors were ended in death at seventy-five years 
of age. His political support was given the Republican party and 
he was a member of the Qiristian church. His wife, who was an 
earnest Christian woman, passed away at the age of seventy-four 
years. In their family were ten children: Mrs. Ellen Hoskins, Mrs. 
Billings. Mrs. Hulda Wilson, who is deceased; Mrs. Lora Elder, who 
died at the age of thirty-five years; Eliphalet. who resides in Mantua 
township; William, who is living upon the old homestead in Mantua 
township, Monroe county, where the little log cabin still stands; Mrs. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GEXEALOGICAL HISTORY. HI 

Eliza Gabb, of the same townsliip; Mrs. Ann Miller and Mrs. Calh- 
arine Wignall, both of Mantua township ; and Mrs. Lcona Cook, of 
Wapello county. 

Since his marriage Mr. Billings has devoted his energies untir- 
ingly to agricultural pursuits, and his farm property now comprises 
two hundred and tiiirty-three acres of rich land, on which are found 
unfailing springs of pure water. His place is appropriately named the 
Springhill dairy farm, for he is extensively engaged in the dairy busi- 
ness, keeping twenty-three cows for this purpose. Every equipment 
known for a model farm is found upon his place, and neatness and 
thrift characterize every department of the farm work. The sale of 
his dairy products brings to him an excellent financial return and he 
also realizes a comfortable conii>etence from his harvests. 

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Billings has been blessed with nine 
children : Mrs. Ida Beebe, of Nebraska ; Clinton, who is living upon 
a farm adjoining the home place; Willard, of Monroe county; Mrs. 
Minnie Lesenger, of .Vvery, Towa; Mrs. Ella Porter, of Albia; George, 
Albert, Harrison and Daisy. Mr. Billings is a stalwart Republican, 
unfaltering in his advocacy of the party principles, and on questions 
of the day he keeps well informed. He has held a number of township 
offices and is a member of James R. Castle Post No. 313, G. A. R., of 
Avery, in which he has twice served as commander. He has also been 
an officer in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His wife is a 
member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and both arc people of 
genial manner and social disposition, and are popular with a large cir- 
cle of friends. 



112 BIOGRAPHICAL A\W GEXEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

FARES RICHARDSON. 

The gentleman above named, who is now spending the evening of 
his days raising fine poultry and stock on his farm near Moulton, has 
had an adventurous career and is able to tell some thrilling stories of 
his early experiences. Before he had reached his majority he took the 
then perilous trip across the plains to California, and encountered all 
the dangers and hardships incident to pioneer life in that western 
wilderness. It was the period of the first gold excitement in that region, 
and Mr. Richardson's tales of his mining life, with its fits of alternate 
hope and disappointment, success and failure, "flush times" and starva- 
tion, have diverted many a party of friends as they assembled around 
his hospitable stove in the long winter evenings. The family was of 
eastern origin, but by early migration were long identified with different 
states of the west. Samuel Richardson, who was a native of Maine, 
was married in Xew ^'ork to Susan Granger, a lady of Canadian 
parentage. They farmed for a while in the state of their nuptials, and 
they removed to Michigan, where the same occupation was taken up 
and followed for many years. In the spring of 1844 the family again 
turned their faces toward the setting sun and entered upon a tedious 
journey, which did not end until they drew up in Jackson county, Iowa. 
A home was secured in that locality, which continued their place of 
abode until 1869, when thev came to Appanoose county and settled in 
Washington township, where both parents found their last resting place. 

Fares Richardson, one of the children of this estimable couple, 
was born in McComb county, Michigan, thirty miles north of Detroit, 
April 22, 1839. and was consequenth- five years old when his parents 
came to Iowa. He grew up with the restless and roving disposition 
characteristic of the game western spirits of those days, and it was 




FARES RICHARDSON. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 115 

his fortune to have his love of adventure fully gratified. In 1859, in 
company with his brother Josiah. Mr. Richardson started on foot for 
the distant shores of California, and, after a wearisome tramp over 
plains and mountains, amid hardships and dangers, and undergoing 
many privations, arrived without serious mishaps at Sacramento. After 
spending three }ears in California without notable result, these cour- 
ageous young men made their way to the wilds of Oregon and found a 
lodgment on John Day's river, where they discovered the gold mine 
afterward known as Canyon City. In the spring of 1862 they pur- 
chased horses and mules and engaged in packing supplies to various 
points in the surrounding country where mining was in progress, and 
were themselves engaged in mining a year or two with fair success. 
When they first landed in Oregon the Richardson boys had only twenty 
dollars, which they soon exhausted for food, and then "staked a claim." 
The early returns from this, however, were rather disappointing, as the 
first pan from their new mine netted onl\- a half dollar's worth of gold 
dust. Nothing daunted, however, they secured additional claims, and 
their hard work was rewarded for a while by taking out gold dust at 
the rate of ten to fifteen dollars a day. At this juncture the two 
brothers formed a partnershij) with Bid Coons, Jerry Growdivant, Lewis 
Martin, Arthur Sacket, George Chamberlin and Thomas Sitton, all 
of whom were adventurous spirits in search of fortunes in the mines 
of Oregon. Shortly after this party began operating together pro- 
visions ran out, and four of the squad were detailed to go in search 
of food. Taking eight mules and all the available cash, amounting 
to about four hundred dollars, the four men started on the perilous 
trip to the distant Dalles of Oregon, not le.ss than three hundred miles 
away, on the lower Columbia river. Their journe}- led them through 



116 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

the country of the Indians, who at that time were very hostile to the 
whites, and the traveling over the roadless mountains and across in- 
numerable streams of torrential rapidity made the trip one long to be 
remembered. During their absence there were hungry times in camp, 
the boys finding it difficult to get anything to eat, and being forced 
to subsist on two ounces of bread and three of meat as a daily ration. 
When the exploring party returned after twenty-one days, they re- 
ported having met many prospectors leaving the country in disgust, 
and declaring that no gold was to be found in that section. In reply 
to this Bid Coons, who had remained with the party in camp, drew 
out one thousand dollars in gold dust, which he exhibited to the return- 
ing pilgrims. This, with the newly brought food, made all hands very 
happy, and the next few days were spent in feasting and resting. 
Shortly afterward the party located what was subsequently called the 
Richardson claim, from which they took forty thousand dollars' worth 
of crude gold. It took fourteen months to do this, however, and as 
expenses were heavy, flour, meat, tea. coffee and tobacco selling each 
at the rate of one dollar per pound, not much was saved by the miners 
as the result of their arduous labors. 

Having had enough of mining and its inevitable privations to la.st 
him a while, Mr. Richardson turned his face homeward and arrived 
at the house of his parents in Iowa some time during 1864. Shortly 
afterward he was married to Margaret Wirt, who died in 1876, leaving 
three children: E. J. Richardson. Mrs. Martha E. McCoy and Mrs. 
Jessie Haynes. The four years subsequent to his marriage Mr. Rich- 
ardson continued to reside in Jackson county in the vicinity of his 
father, and accompanied the latter on his removal to Appanoose county 
in 1869. In 1876 he contracted a second marriage with Miss Sarah 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 117 

Leach, by whom he has one cliild, now Mrs. Belle Briniger. Mr. 
Richardson has devoted his time of late years to the breeding of fancy 
poultry and Aberdeen polled cattle on his fine farm one and one-half 
miles north of Moulton. 



SIDNEY F. TYRREL. 

For sixty years Sidney F. Tyrrel has been numbered among Mon- 
roe county's most patriotic and honored citizens and he is still actively 
engaged in agricultural pursuits in Mantua township. He was born 
in Portage county, Ohio, on the 25th of August, 1835, and was a 
boy of seven years when he came to the territory of Iowa with his 
parents. Philander Lorenzo and Sarah (Bates) Tyrrel, who were promi- 
nent early settlers of Monroe county. The family is of English origin 
and was founded in America by two brothers who came from England 
two hundred years ago, one settling in Xew York state and the other 
farther south. Grandfather Philander Tyrrel was born in the Empire 
state and became a soldier of the war of 1812, his widow afterward re- 
ceiving a pension until her death. Philander Lorenzo Tyrrel grew to 
manhood in Portage county. Ohio, and there married Sarah Bates, a 
native of New York and a daughter of Charles Bates, of that state. 
In 1841 they mo\ed io Caldwell county, Missouri, driving the entire 
distance, and two years later come to Monroe county, Iowa, being 
among the first to locate in Mantua township, the old homestead being 
southwest of the present residence of our subject. Here the father died 
at the age of eighty years. He was born in 1812 and throughout his 
active business life followed farming. In politics he was a Republican. 
His estimable wife passed away in 1900 and her death was deeply 



118 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL IIISrORY. 

mourned by many friends as well as by her immediate family. Their 
children were Sidney F., of this review; Mrs. Olive Morgan; 1. X., a 
resident of Mantua township; Mrs. Mary Chidester; Benjamin; Jolm. 
a resident of Ringgold county, Iowa; Perry, of Urbana township, Mon- 
roe county ; Osman ; James ; and Mrs. Dorliska Miller. They are all 
numbered among the most worthy citizens of their respective communi- 
ties. 

From the time he was eight years old Sidney F. Tyrrel has made 
his home in Monroe county, and amid pioneer scenes he grew to man- 
hood, his education being obtained in a primitive country schoolhouse 
with puncheon floor. In iSA^, during the dark days of the Rel>ellion, 
he put aside all personal interests, and in response to the country's call 
for aid he enlisted in the Thirty-sixth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, being 
under the command of Colonel Kittridge, Lieutenant Colonel F. M. 
Drake and Captain Porter. He was in the engagements at Little Mis- 
souri river, Crand Prairie. Camden, Arkansas, and suffered much 
from swollen feet while on forced marches when the amiy was retreat- 
ing to Camden. Mr. Tyrrel was honorably discharged at' the close of 
the war. 

In 1857 he was married to Miss Catherine Xulan, who was born 
near Hillslxiro, in Highland county, Ohio, a daughter of Doster and 
Maiy (.\ndcrson) Xolan. also natives of the Buckeye state and early 
settlers of Van Buren county, Iowa, where the mother died, but the 
father's death occurred in Putnam county, Missouri. In their family 
were two sfins who were soldiers of the Ci\'il war: .Mhcrt C. now a 
resident of Nemaha county. Kansas, was first a member of the Second 
Iowa Volunteer Tnfanlry rind later of an Illinois regiment; and James 
B. served in the Third Iowa Cavalry and is now living in Indian Terri- 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 119 

tor>-. To Mr. and Mrs. TNTrel were born three children who are still 
living, namely: Kester L.. a resident of Monroe township, this county; 
Sarah, wife of James Spears, of Mantua township; and Alice, wife of 
Ed Larue, of Russell, Iowa. Mary A., a most estimable young lady, 
died at the age of eighteen years, and one child died in infancy. 

In 1 86 1 Mr. Tyrrel located upon his present farm, which consists of 
one hundred and nineteen acres of well improved land, on which is a 
good orchard and substantial buildings, that stand as monuments to 
the thrift and enterprise of the owner. He has ever been regarded as 
one of the most skillful farmers of his locality. As a Democrat, he has 
taken quite an active interest in public affairs, and efficiently served as 
township trustee for three terms. He is an honored member of J. R. 
Castle Post No. 113, G. A. R., of Avery, Iowa, and is also connected 
with the Presbyterian church, of which he is a trustee. He has always 
been found true to every trust reposed in him and has minifested a 
patriotic spirit in times of peace as well as in times of war. 

W. J. LATHAN. 

W. J. Lathan, one of the most enterprising and public-spirited citi- 
zens of Mantua township, has made his home in Monroe county for 
fifty-two years and has therefore witnessed almost its entire develop- 
ment and growth. He claims Indiana as his native state, his birth hav- 
ing occurred in Bloomington, June 26, 1849. His father, John Lathan, 
who is still living at the age of seventy-seven years, was born in South 
Carolina, and is a son of William Lathan, who was of Irish parentage. 
His ancestors belonged to an old and honored Protestant family, and 
their descendants have been people of prominence in the various locali- 
ties where thev have made their homes. 



120 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

John Lathan was reared upon a farm and attended the schools of 
the neighborhood. When a young man he left his native state and 
went to Indiana, which was then a new country, and there met and mar- 
ried Miss Rebecca Jane Harbison, a woman of many admirable traits 
of character, who proved to him a most capable helpmeet as well as a 
loving wife. She was a daughter of William Harbison, who was also of 
Irish descent. In 1850 John Lathan and family left the Hoosier state 
and came to Iowa, crossing the Mississippi river on a ferryboat. He 
purchased a farm of one hundred and thirty acres in Monroe county, 
and subsequently bought one hundred and fifty acres more, being ex- 
tensively engaged in farming and stock-raising throughout his active 
business life. He is a worthy and zealous member of the Associated 
Presbyterian church, in which he has held the office of elder, and his 
life has ever been in harmony with his professions. His wife, who 
was an earnest member of the same church, died at the age of sixty- 
nine years, and her death was widely and deeply mourned, for she 
made friends of all with whom she was brought in contact. In their 
family were the following children : W. J. : Tillman H., a resident of 
Red Oak, Montgomery' county, Iowa; Samuel H., whose home is in 
Troy township, Monroe county ; Miss Sarah C. Lathan, who lives at her 
father's homestead ; Alexander B.. who died unmarried at the age of 
thirty-three years: Margaret E., deceased wife of Ed G. Forsythe, of 
Mantua township; Stewart, who died at the age of fourteen years; and 
Anna, who died at the age of two years. By his ballot the father sup- 
ports the men and measures of the Republican party, and he has 
efficiently filled several township offices, being one of the most popular 
men of his community. 

W. J. Lathan passed the days of his boyhood and youth upon 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 121 

his father's farm, and in the schools of tiiat locality he acquired a good 
practical education, which enabled him to successfully engage in teach- 
ing for some years, entering upon that profession at the age of twenty- 
one years. His brother Tillman was also one of the successful and 
popular teachers of the county for a time. For the past twenty-three 
years W. J. Lathan has resided upon his present farm in Mantua town- 
ship, and as an agriculturist he has prospered, owning one of the best 
places in the community. He has a nice residence, surrounded by a 
beautiful lawn and orchard, and the barns, cribs and other outbuildings 
present a neat and thrift}- appearance, showing the owner to be a man 
of progressive ideas and careful habits. His place is conveniently lo- 
cated five miles from Albia and commands a fine view of the surround- 
ing country. In connection with general farming, stock-raising is car- 
ried on quite extensively. 

At the age of twenty-eight years, Mr. Lathan was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Melissa Forsyth, a lady of education and refinement, who 
attended school here and was one of the popular teachers of the county 
prior to her marriage. Her father, David Forsyth, was a native of 
Ohio, and a son of Elijah Forsyth, who was also born in that state. 
David Forsyth married M. Elizabeth Haugh, who was born in Virginia 
and belonged to an old Virginia family of German descent. On com- 
ing to Iowa they spent a short time in Davis and Van Buren counties, 
but finally, in 1850, located in Monroe count}', where the father followed 
farming until called to his final rest at the age of seventy-nine years. 
He was an elder in the United Presbyterian church for many years and 
was a most exemplary man. His political support was given the Re- 
publican party. His widow still survives him, Ijeing now seventy- 
eight years of age, and continues to reside on the old homestead. Their 



122 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

children were Mrs. Mary S. Burlingame, of Troy township; Mrs. 
Fidelia Chisman, who was formerly a teacher and is now living in 
Wapello county, Iowa; Erastus, a resident of Mantua township; Melissa, 
wife of our subject ; Mrs. Emma Chisman, of Ottumwa, Iowa ; Lodema, 
who married James Lathan and died at the age of thirty-two years; 
and Harvey and Elmer, who died in childhood. Five children bless 
the union of our subject and his wife: Anna May, Mary E., wife of 
Elmer Gray, of Troy township; Arthur B., Iva J., and Ralph E. 

Mr. Lathan uses his right of franchise in support of men and meas- 
ures irrespective of party, but usually supports the Democratic party in 
national politics, and besides holding township offices he served as county 
supervisor, being a valued and influential member of the board. He is 
firm in his convictions of right and wrong and has displayed good judg- 
ment in his management of public afifairs as well as private interests. 
For some years he filled the office of justice of the peace and was a 
member of the school board. Religiously both he and his wife are mem- 
bers and he has been an elder of the Associated Presbyterian church, 
and are among the most highly esteemed citizens of the county. Physi- 
cally he is a man six feet in height, and socially is very popular. 



LAWSON B. CARLTON. 

Among the brave men who devoted the opening years of their man- 
hood to the defense of our country from the internal foes who sought 
her dismemberment was Lawson B. Carlton, who for half a century has 
been among the honored residents of Monroe county, Iowa, his home 
being in Mantua township. A native of Ohio, he was born in Geauga 
county on the 15th of September, 1841, and is a son of Marion Carlton, 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GEXEALOGICAL HISTORY. 123 

who was born in Connecticut and belonged to an old family of that state, 
which was of English descent. Going to Ohio, the father there married 
Philosha Bradley, a native of that state and a daughter of Selah Brad- 
ley, who was also born in Connecticut. In 1850 Marion Carlton brought 
his family to Iowa, making the journey by the lakes to Chicago, by rail- 
road to Burlington, and on by stage to his destination in Wapello county. 
By occupation he was a farmer, but when the country became involved 
in civil war he laid aside the plow and entered the service as a member 
of the Thirty-third Iowa Infantry. He never lived to return home, but 
died at Milliken"s Bend, Mississippi, at the age of forty-six years. In 
politics he was a Republican. His wife died at the age of fifty-eight 
years. They were the parents of five children, namely: Lawson B., of 
this review; Angle M.; Adolph, who was a soldier of the Third Iowa 
Cavalry during the Civil war, and is now a resident of Oregon ; Mrs. 
Cora Stanley, who also makes her home in that state; and Harley H., of 
Sheridan county, Kansas. In connection with farming the father also 
worked at the carpenter's and wheelwright's trades and was a good me- 
chanic. 

Lawson B. Carlton was a lad of nine years when he accompanied 
his parents on their removal to the Hawkeye state, where he grew to 
manhood. During his youth he learned the blacksmith's trade and be- 
came a good workman, continuing to follow that occupation until after 
the inauguration of the Civil war, when, feeling that his country needed 
his aid, he enlisted in 1862 in Company H, First Iowa Cavalry, under 
Captain W'estcott and Colonel Anderson. He remained in the service 
until hostilities ceased and at different times was under the command 
of Generals Custer, Steele and Davison. His services being no longer 



124 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GEXEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

needed, he was honorably discharged at Austin, Texas, and returned 
home with a war record of which he may be justly proud. 

Before entering the army Mr. Carhon was married, in February, 
1861, to Miss EHza A. Miller, whose brother. James M. Miller, was also 
in the service, being a member of Company K, Third Iowa Cavalry. 
He was killed in battle on the i6th of April, 1865. at the age of twenty- 
four years, thus laying down his life on the altar of his country. Mrs. 
Carlton was born in Portage county, Ohio, and is a daughter of A. F. 
Miller, also a native of that state, who came to Iowa in 1846, being the 
first to settle on Miller's Ridge, in Mantua township, Monroe county. 
Here he died at the ripe old age of eighty-six years, and his wife, who 
bore the maiden name of Clarissa Morgan and was a native of Ohio, 
died at the age of seventy-two. Both were faithful members of the 
Methodist Episcopal church, and he was a Republican in politics and liy 
occupation a farmer. Their children were Eliza A., wife of our subject; 
Mrs. Harriet Riddle; Albert; D. R. ; Mrs. Florence Ames, of Mantua 
township, and Washburn, a resident of Decatur county, Kansas. 

The following named children have been born to our subject and 
his wife : D. C, who is married and is now engaged in the operation of 
his fine farm of one hundred and twenty acres; Mrs. Ada Hinton, a 
resident of Cass County, Iowa; and A. F., who married Elsie Macy and 
lives with his father on the home farm, has three children — Leslie, Forest 
and Verne. Mr. Carlton and his son own a well improved and highly 
cultivated farm of one hundred and fifty-three acres, on which is a good 
house and substantial outbuildings. Besides the cultivated fields there 
are pasture, meadow and woodlands, and the farm is a very productive 
and valuable one. The family hold membership in the Methodist Epis- 
copal church, and ^Ir. Carlton is identificxl with J. R. Castle Post No. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 125 

313, G. A. R., of Avery, Iowa. Both he and his sons vote the Repub- 
lican ticket and take quite an active and commendable interest in public 
affairs. 



JACOB G. LONG. 

Jacob Grimes Long is numl)ered among the nati\-e sons of Iowa, 
his birth having occurred November 5, i860, in Albia, whence the family 
soon moved to the old family homestead near his present farm in Mantua 
township. Throughout his entire life he has resided in this locality, in- 
terested in the work of progress and doing all he could for the promotion 
of the best interests of his county. His father, William Long, now de- 
ceased, came to the territory of Iowa in the year 1844. He was born 
in county Antrim, Ireland, in 1808, of Scotch-Irish parentage. The 
family was of Protestant faith and noted for industry and honesty. In 
his youth William Long was trained to farm work, and he obtained his 
education in his native country, but when a young man left the Emerald 
Isle and crossed the Atlantic to the new world. He first wedded Mary 
Hebrew, who died leaving one child, Alexander Long, who is engaged 
in the bus and transfer business in Albia, Iowa. For his second wife 
the father chose Mary J. Elder, who was born in Ireland, and she, too, 
was of Scotch-Irish ancestry and of the Protestant religion. During 
her girlhood she came to the United States with her father, Thomas 
Elder, who died in this country. Mrs. Long was a devoted wife and 
mother, a kind neighl)or and a faithful friend and was Iieloved by all 
who knew her. She was a Presbyterian in religious belief and died in 
February, 1897, at the age of sixty-five years. William Long was also 
a member of the Presbyterian church, and his life was in harmony with 



12G BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

its teachings and principles. His political support was given to the Re- 
publican party and in matters of business he was known to he. reliable 
and trustworthy, never taking advantage of the necessities of his fellow- 
men in the slightest degree. To this worthy coujile were horn seven 
children : John W.. who resides on the old home farm in Mantua 
township: Jacob G., of this review; Mrs. Jennie Warner, of Monroe 
county ; Thomas, who is in the far west ; Mrs. Mary Turner, who is 
deceased; Mrs. Belle Hawthorn, of Monroe county; and Oiarles, who 
is living in Albia. 

Jacob G. Long was early trained to the work of the farm and be- 
came a hand in tiie fields, where he was employed from the time of early 
spring planting until crops were harvested in the autumn. A few months 
each year he pursued his education in a little schoolhouse built of oak 
boards. During a portion of his youth he worked out by the month as 
a farmhand, and thus gained a start in the business world. When 
twenty-eight years of age he was united in marriage to Miss Barbara 
Sinclair, with whom he has since traveled life's journey. She is a 
daughter of John Sinclair, who was a leading farmer and prominent 
early settler of this ix)rtion of the state, and upon his fami in Mantua 
township she was born and spent her girlhood days. 

Mr. and Mrs. Long have two children : John, who is now twelve 
years of age, and Rettie Pearl, nine years of age. They also lost a little 
daughter in infancy. The home farm of Mr. Long comprises a quarter 
section of Iowa's rich and productive land. It is equipped with all of 
the improveiuents. usually found upon a good farm, and annually his 
fields rclr.rn t<> him rich harvests. He also has good returns from his 
orchard, and in his pastures and feed lots are seen high grades of cattle, 
horses and hogs. To the Republican party he gives his earnest support, 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 127 

and he has served as a member of the school board, the cause of educa- 
tion finding in him a warm friend. He belongs to the Methodist Epis- 
copal church and his life exemplifies the spirit of religion which causes 
one to look upon the bright side, to make the most of opportunities and 
to advance steadily in those walks of life leading to the development of 
an upright character. 



ARCHIBALD SINCLAIR. 

Ireland has furnished to Monroe county a number of its citizens of 
worth, intelligence and business ability, and among this number is 
Archibald Sinclair, who rendered to his adopted country faithful service 
in the Civil war. He came to Monroe count}' in 1856, his birth having 
occurred in county Tyrone, Ireland, on the 2d of February. 1847. His 
father, John Sinclair, was born in the same country and there obtained 
a good education. He belonged to a Protestant family whose worth was 
widely acknowledged, and after arriving at years of maturity he was 
married in his native country to Miss Mary Moore, who was also born 
and reared on the Emerald Isle. Crossing the Atlantic to the United 
States with their family, they took up their abode in Philadelphia, Penn- 
sylvania, in 1853. The father, however, had made the trip to America 
two years prior to this time, and in 1856 he brought his wife and chil- 
dren to Monroe county, Iowa, settling in Mantua township. He was a 
dyer by trade and while living in Philadelphia worked in a carpet factory. 
Coming to the west, he devoted his energies to agricultural pursuits and 
was recognized in time as one of the leading farmers of his locality. In 
politics an earnest Republican, he never wavered in his allegiance to that 
party, and for it cast his first presidential vote after becoming a natural- 



12S BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

ized American citizen. He was reared in the Covenanter faith, and both 
lie and his wife were Presbyterians. A man of broad general informa- 
tion, he was especially well informed concerning history, and after com- 
ing to the United States he kept in touch with topics of general interest 
in America. He and his wife were laid to rest in the cemetery of Pleas- 
ant township. Their children were as follows : Mrs. Belle Henderson, 
of Mantua township; Archibald; Mrs. J. G. Long, who is also living 
in Mantua township; and Anna and Margaret, both of whom are de- 
ceased. 

Archibald Sinclair was a little lad of about seven or eight years 
when brought by his mother to the United States, and with his parents 
he came on to Iowa, being reared upon the home farm here. His father 
and mother endeavored to impress upon his mind the value of industry 
and integrity in the active aflfairs of life, and the lessons which he thus 
learned have never been forgotten, but have been continually practiced 
in his contact with his fellow men. He obtained his education in the 
public school, and when but sixteen years of age offered his services to 
the government, enlisting in the First Iowa Cavalry, under command 
of Captain W". Whisnen and Colonel Daniel Anderson, while A. U. Mc- 
Cormick was the first lieutenant of the company. Mr. Sinclair joined 
the army in March, 1864, and although very young proved a valiant de- 
fender of the Union, serving in the southwest under General Davison 
and General Rosecrans. and was also under General Custer in Texas, 
during which time the regiment made several long and severe marches 
through a wild country, living on half rations. The march was con- 
tinued through all kinds of weather, and at length they reached San 
Antonio, Texas. Mr. Sinclair was honorably discharged in March, 
1866, at Davenport, Iowa, having been mustered out at Austin, Texas, 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GEXEALOGICAL HISTORY. 129 

where he had done guard duty for a time. A brave soldier boy, he de- 
served all of the praise which his country could give him for his loyal 
defense of the starry banner. 

After his return home Mr. Sinclair worked upon his father's farm 
until he established a home of his own. He was married in 1872 to 
Miss Hannah Spears, who was born in Columbus, Ohio, a daughter of 
William and Mary (Simpson) Spears, both of whom were natives of 
the Buckeye state, and the former died in Ottumwa, Iowa. .Vt the 
father's death the mother was left with tlie care of eight children, and 
she died at the age of seventy-two years. They were earnest Christian 
people, holding membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. Five of 
the children are still living, namely : Mrs. Hannah Sinclair, John, James, 
Anna and Washington, the others having passed away. 

Mr. Sinclair is the owner of two hundred and fifty-three acres of 
rich land and his farm is a valuable property because of the excellent 
improvements he has made upon it. The place is well watered by a creek 
and two fine springs, and the fields are rich and productive, while the 
yield of the orchard adds not a little to the income of the owner, as well 
as supplying the table with fruit. The pleasant home of the family 
stands upon a natural building site, and in the rear are good barns with 
feed lots and pasture lands. Mr. Sinclair keeps fine shorthorn cattle 
and keeps from forty-five to sixty head of horses upon his place. He 
also has a large number of sheep, and is well known as a successful stock 
raiser. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair have been born ten children : John ; Mrs. 
Jennie LcAvis, of Mantua township, who was a popular teacher of the 
county; Mrs. Mary Chidester, of the same township; William; Susan, 
who is engaged in teaching school ; James, Robert, Charles, Grant and 



130 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

Earl. Mr. Sinclair is an earnest Republican, has frequently attended the 
county conventions as a delegate, and has labored untiringly and effec- 
tively for the interests of his party and friends. He has served on the 
school board, but has never been a politician in the sense of seeking 
office. He maintains pleasant relations with his old army comrades 
through his membership in Albia Post, G. A. R., and his wife belongs to 
the Methodist church, as do some of their children. 



SANFORD HOFFMAN. 

Sanford Hoffman, who carries on general farming on section i, 
Taylor township, where he has ninety-seven acres of good land, has been 
a resident of Appanoose county since 1875, and his residence in the 
state dates from 1870, for in that year he settled in Monroe county. He 
was born in Greene county, Pennsylvania, November 24, 1834, and is a 
son of Henry Hoffman, whose birth occurred in Pennsylvania, and who 
represented one of the old Pennsylvania German families noted for in- 
dustry and integrity. The mother of our subject bore the maiden name 
of Elizabeth Higgins, and she, too, was born in the Keystone state, of 
Pennsylvania German parentage. Both Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman died in 
Greene county, where the father had followed the occupation of farming 
as a life work. In politics he was a Republican and was a member of 
the Church of God. In the family were thirteen children, eleven of 
whom reached years of maturity, while three were soldiers of the Civil 
war, Bryce being a member of a Pennsylvania regiment, while Layton 
joined a West Virginia regiment. 

Sanford Hoffman spent his boyhood days in the county of his na- 
tivity, and his parents impressed upon his mind lessons of industry and 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GEXEALOGICAL HISTORY. 131 

perseverance. His literary training was received in the public schools, 
and at the age of twenty-three years he was married, Miss Rachel Plantz 
becoming his wife. She was born and reared in Greene county, Penn- 
sylvania, a daughter of George and Catherine (Stollen) Plantz, both 
of whom died in Iowa. 

It was in 1864 that Mr. Hoffman ofifered his services to the gov- 
ernment, enlisting in the Sixth West Virginia Infantry, with which he 
served until the close of the war. when he was honorably discharged. 
He then returned to farm life in Pennsylvania and in 1870 moved west- 
ward to Iowa, settling in Monroe county, where he carried on farming 
until 1875. In that year he came to Appanoose county, and has since 
lived upon his present farm on section i, Taylor township, where he has 
ninety-seven acres of rich and productive land. It is well watered by 
a creek, and there are good pastures and meadows together with 
plowed land. He keeps a high grade of Polled Angus cattle and draft 
horses of English breed, and both in his stock-raising and in his gen- 
eral agricultural pursuits he is meeting with success for as the years 
pass his income gradually increases. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman were born seven children : Frank- 
lin M. resides in this county. Jervis Leroy, who carries on farming 
here and is now serving as justice of the peace, was born in Greene 
county, Pennsylvania, in 1S62, and was therefore eight years of age 
when the famil}- came to Iowa. He was here reared, obtaining a good 
education, and for a number of years was successfully engaged in 
teaching. On the 27th of May, 1897, he wedded Miss Lizzie Stoops, 
who was born in Monroe county, Iowa, a daughter of William and 
Judith (\\'right) Stoops. Her father was a soldier of the Thirteenth 
Iowa Infantry during the Civil war. J. L. Hoffman and his wife have 



132 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

two sons, Charles and Harold. The other children of our subject and 
his wife are: Mrs. Ollie Hampton, of York, Nebraska; and Mrs. 
Mary Faber, of Monroe county, Iowa. The)- also lost three children, 
Libbie and Harvey, who were successful teachers, and an infant named 
Jane. 

Mr. Hoffman exerts his right of franchise in support of the men 
and measures of the Republican party. He belongs to Moravia Post, 
G. A. R., and is also a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. In 
matters of business he is straightforward and reliable and when called 
upon to aid in any measure or improvement of benefit to the community 
his co-operation is not withheld. 



JACKSON LUSE. 

Jackson Luse, who resides on section 17, Taylor township, Ap- 
panoose county, where he owns and operates two hundred and for^y 
acres of good land, besides forty acres in section 25, Chariton township, 
was born on the old homestead farm in this county, April 8, 1855. His 
father, Aaron Luse, was one of the pioneer settlers here and was a 
native of Trumbull county, Ohio, born March 12, 1819. The grand- 
father was William Luse, a native of Pennsylvania, who removed from 
the Keystone state to Ohio and there spent his remaining days. Aaron 
Luse was reared in Ohio, where he remained until nineteen years of 
age, and then went to Missouri, while later he became a resident of 
Illinois. At the age of twenty-two he was united in marriage in \'an 
Buren county, Iowa, to Miss Martha Smith, who was Ixirn October 
26, 1821, near Cleveland, Ohio, and with her parents went to Van Buren 
county, Iowa, when this state was still a territory. The marriage of 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 133 

Mr. and Mrs. Luse was celel)rated on tlie J4tli of January, 1841. and 
ten years later tliey became residents of Appanoose county, Iowa. The 
father secured a tract of government land which he transformed into 
one of the best farms of the township. He also successfully engaged 
in the raising of stock, and he improved his fields with modern equip- 
ments, planting an orchard, building a large barn, also a comfortable 
home and other buildings upon his place. He set out one of the first 
orchards in the county and took an active interest in the agricultural 
development of this section of the state. Honorable in all things, his 
word was as good as his bond, and he left to his family an untarnished 
name. His death occurred August 25, 1881, when he was sixty-two 
years of age, and his wife passed away August 3, 1898, at the advanced 
age of nearly seventy-seven years. Both were devoted members of 
the Methodist Episcopal church, in which Mr. Luse served as steward 
and also as Sunday school superintendent for a number of years. His 
wife was an invalid for a quarter of a century. In their family were 
eight children : Mrs. Rosetta Cline, whose husband die.d of the measles 
contracted in the Civil war, and w'ho is living in Moravia; Mrs. Sarah 
J. Skinner, of Moravia; Mrs. Martha Foster, who is a widow living in 
Taylor township; Laura E., the wife of Rev. George M. Andrews, of 
Adams county, Nebraska; \\'illiani J., of Gordon Grove, Iowa; Jack- 
son, of this review; Mary, the wife of T. J. Turner, of Moravia; and 
Douglas, who died at the age of eleven months. 

Jackson Luse was reared ujKin the old family homestead, where 
he was early trained to habits of industry, economy and integrity. He 
attended the public schools to a limited extent, and by reading, study 
and investigation in later years has become a well informed man. At 
the age of twenty-one he was united in marriage to Miss Mina Raster, 



134 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

who was born in Chariton township, Appanoose county, and was reared 
and educated here. Her father, Robert Kaster. was one of the early 
and prominent settlers of the county, a native of Pennsylvania, whence 
he removed to Indiana, and from that state came to Iowa. His wife 
bore the maiden name of Mary McDaniel, and she, too, was born in 
Pennsylvania. She is now living in Chariton township, at the age of 
seventy-eiglit years, but Mr. Kaster passed away at the age of seventy- 
four years. He was a farmer by occupation and gave his political sup- 
port to the Democratic party, while his religious faith was indicated by 
his membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, to which Mrs. Kas 
ter also belongs. For a number of years he was a class leader in the 
Fairview churcli and was one of the active workers and liberal sup- 
porters of the church. In this family were ten children : Mrs. Huldab 
J. Worthington, of Hamilton county, Nebraska; Mrs. Mary E. Boyer. 
of Chariton township; Robert H., of this county; Mrs. Luse; James M., 
of Monroe county, Iowa ; Mrs. Hannah E. Gladfelder, of Chariton 
township; William and Benjamin, who have passed away; and Nancy, 
who was the firstborn and died at the age of nine years, .\nother 
daughter, Mrs. .\ustralia Worthington, died at York. Nebraska. 

Reared upon the home farm Jackson Luse has devoted his entire 
life to agricultural pursuits and the nursury business, except two years 
which were spent in the village of Maine, and ranks among the lead- 
ing farmers of his portion of the state. In 1892 Mr. Luse established 
a fruit nursery on his home place, which he conducted successfully 
for almost ten years, closing it out to engage more exclusively in ag- 
riculture. For two years he conducted a mercantile business in Maine 
and served as postmaster during that time. He has upon his prop- 
erty a good house, good barn and a fine orchard of ten acres, around 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 135 

which is a Inalf mile of evergreen trees to serve as a wind-break. The 
buildings for the shelter of grain and stock are substantial and com- 
modious, and everything about the place is neat and thrifty in appear- 
ance. The greater part of the farm of two hundred and forty acres 
is under a high state of cultivation, and the owner is regarded as one 
of the successful men of his locality. 

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Luse has been blessed with seven chil- 
dren : Effie v.. the wife of J. W. McDaniel, of Chariton township; 
Elbert A., who is living in the same township; Robert E., Lloyd E., 
Guss E., Cody Jackson and Coy E., all under the parental roof. Mr. 
Luse gives his political support to the Republican party and is a rec- 
ognized leader in this locality. For four years he served as assessor 
of his township and was re-elected in the fall of 1902; was also justice 
of the peace and township trustee, and in the discharge of his official 
duties he has been most prompt and faithful. He belongs to the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church, of which he is a trustee, and every movement 
for the benefit of his community and tending to promote advancement 
in all material, social, educational and moral lines receives his sup- 
port and endorsement. 



GEORGE W. DEAN. 

George W. Dean is proprietor of the Peerless Hereford Farm, 
making a specialty of the raising of fine Hereford cattle. He is a 
leading citizen of this locality and a veteran of the Civil war. He was 
born in Schuyler county, Missouri, May 24, 1839, and is a son of 
Levin Dean, who was one of the early settlers of Appanoose county. 
His birth occurred in Kentucky, and he was reared there, removing 



136 BIOGRAPHICAL A\H) GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

afterward to Missouri. In Howard county, of the latter state, he was 
united in marriag^e to Miss Missouri Ann Evans, also a native of the 
Blue Grass state. In 1846 they removed from Missouri to Appanoose 
county. Iowa, casting in their lot with the early settlers who were re- 
claiming the wild lands for farming purposes. Here Mr. Dean carried 
on agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred when he was 
sixty-five years of age. His widow still survives him and is now living 
at Moravia, at the age of eighty-six years. In their family were sevai 
children: Elizabeth is deceased; George W. is the second of the fam- 
ily; Jesse, who was a soldier of the Civil war, died in a southern prison 
at Tyler, Texas, having been captured by the enemy ; Sarah has passed 
away; Mrs. Mary Harn resides in Moravia; Mrs. Martha McCauley is 
the next younger ; and Erastus is also living in Appanoose county. The 
father, in order to i)rovidc for his family, always carried on farm work. 
He gave his political support tirst to the Whig party and afterward to 
the Republican party, and in religious faith both he and his wife were 
Methodists. 

George W. Dean was a lad of seven summers when brought by his 
parents to Appanoose county, and upon the home farm his early boy- 
hood days were spent. He obtained his education in a log schoolhouse 
which was seated with slab seats, and he has also added to his knt)wl- 
edge by experience and observation. In .\ugust, 1862, he responded 
to the country's call for aid in preserving the Union, enlisting as a 
member of Company C. Thirty-sixth Iowa Infantry, under Captain 
Phillips and Colonel C. \\'. Kittridge. Later the company was com- 
manded by Captain W. Vermilya. Mr. Dean was wounded at the en- 
gagements at Marks Mills and for a time was held in a prison. In 
September, 1865. he received an honorable di.scharge. at which time 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 137 

he was serving with tlie rank of sergeant. \Miether on the lonely 
picket line or upon the firing line he was found loyal to his duty and 
returned to his home with a creditable military record. 

Mr. Dean had been married in i860 in Appanoose county to 
Margaret C. Baldridge, a native of Tennessee and a daughter of 
W. C. Baldridge, who came to Iowa in 1849. He was a farmer by oc- 
cupation and gave his ])olitical support to the Democracy, while his 
religious work was in behalf of the Methotlist Episcopal clnu'ch, of 
which he was a mernber. He died at the age of forty-seven years 
and is survived by his widow', who bore the maiden name of Miss 
Harriet Jane Miller and is now seventy-six years of age. In their 
family were seven children, namely: Margaret C, Drucilla. Sarah, 
James, Cyntha, Mary and Nora. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Dean 
has been blessed with eight children: \Y. F., who is a practicing 
physician of Warren county, Iowa, and is a graduate of the Van- 
derbilt College of Tennessee ; Mrs. ]\Iaggie J. Campbell, of Hastings, 
Nebraska; Mrs. Ella D. Smith, of Appanoose county; Ralph, who 
died at the age of eight years ; Mrs. Arietta Morrison, of Colby 
county, Kansas; Earl I\I.. who is a student in the Iowa Wesleyan Col- 
lege at Mount Pleasant. Iowa; Emil E. ; and Lucile Dean, who is at 
home. 

In 1866 Mr. Dean located upon the farm which has since been 
his place of residence, becoming the owner of two hundred and twenty 
acres of land. This was mostly wild land, and his labors S(Xin wrought 
a transformation in the appearance of the place, tlie fields becoming 
highly cultivated and good buildings erected. He now has a fine resi- 
dence, l)ig barns, pasture lands and feed lots and an extensive orchard. 
He is making a specialty of the raising of Hereford cattle and has a 



138 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

fine herd of thoroughbred stock upon his place. So splendidly im- 
proved is his farm that it is well named "Peerless," and the owner 
is a representative agriculturist, standing for all that is progressive and 
practical in farm work. He votes with tlie Republican party, which 
he has supported since casting his lirst presidential ballot for Abraham 
Lincoln. He belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic and the 
Masonic fraternity, being connected with the lodge, the chapter and the 
Eastern Star. He also holds membership with the Methodist Episcopal 
church and is well known as a man of genuine worth, loyal in citizen- 
ship and progressive in his liusiness affairs. 



ELI ANKROAL 

On a modest homestead of eighty acres, two miles from Moulton, 
may be found that always pleasing spectacle of a man and woman who 
have lived together in conjugal union for a long period of time. Mr. 
and Mrs. Ankrom, the couple alluded to, were married forty-seven 
years ago, and during all that time have had nothing approaching a 
disagreement. All except seven of these years of connubial bliss have 
been passed on the farm near Moulton, and there this worthy but un- 
assuming couple expect to remain until the lengthening shadows are 
followed by that final accounting from which no man can escape. Their 
story is soon told, as it is of the uneventful kind that usually enters 
into the lives of farmers and docs not admit of gaudy coloring or 
dramatic touch in narration. 

John Ankrom, a young Marylander, left his native state about the 
third decade of the last century and crossed the Potomac for the pur- 
pose of seeking a better fortune in old Virginia. Whether or not he 





j^Hi 








^^ 




HM^^LI 



MR. AND MRS. ELI ANKROM. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. Ul 

found tlie fortune is not recorded, Ijut it seems that lie found something 
better in the shape of a good woman, whom he wisely made liis wife, 
and who, in subsequent years of trial, proved entirely worthy of his 
choice. A few years after their marriage, John and Hannah Frances 
Ankrom decided that wliile old Virginia was a great state to be born 
in, it was not so desirable as a place of residence for those not pos- 
sessed of much of this world's goods. Accordingly, in 1834, they 
joined the tide of emigration then settting strongly toward the rich ter- 
ritory in the west, and did not stop until they arrived in the heart of 
the richest of it. They traveled by boat as far west as Burlington and 
rode in wagons from there to their destination, which lay near Fair- 
field, forty miles west of Burlington, Iowa. There the father pur- 
chased land, which he worked hard and continuously until his death 
in 1867, his wife surviving him eleven years and passing away in 1878. 
Their son, Eli Ankrom, was Ixirn in Virginia, February 27, 1832, 
and was consecjuently two years old when the long journey to Iowa was 
undertaken by his parents. He assisted his father on the farm until 
1855. when he decided to marrj' and set up a household of his own. 
The lady whom he selected asMiis wife was Elizabeth Walmer, whose 
birth occurred in Montgomery county, Ohio, April 21, 1837, and who 
was brought to Van Buren county, Iowa, in 185 1 by her parents. 
Shortly after his marriage Mr. Ankrom took his bride to a jilace nine 
miles northeast of Fairfield, where lie was engaged in farming during 
the following six years. Subsequently one year was spent in Davis 
county, and then Mr. and Mrs. Ankrom located on the farm in Appa- 
noose county, near Moulton, which was destined to prove their perma- 
nent abiding place. This estimable coujile are without children of their 
own. I)ut have an adopted son in the person of John H. Ankrom, upon 



U2 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GEXEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

whom they have centered all their affections and hopes, and who gives 
promise of realizing their brightest expectations. Mr. and Mrs. Ank- 
rom are devoted members of the Christian church, and by practice as 
well as precept show the sincerity of their religious convictions. In 
fact, they are one of those couples who "grow old gracefully." whom 
young people like to surround on account of their fatherly and moth- 
erlv kindnesses and who secure general esteem by gentleness of man- 
ners and goodness of heart. 



JOHN A. MOSS. 

The above named gentleman is a native of Iowa and has been 
closely identified with tlie state's development from the time of his 
entrance into active business life. His earlier adult years were < 
voted to teaching, in which occupation he achieved decided success and 
gained rank as one of the best instructors of his grade in the state. 
Abandoning the schoolroom for the farm, Mr. Moss displayed etjual 
abilitv in that line and is now known far and wide as a breeder of 
short-horn cattle and one of the progressive agriculturists of his coun- 
ty. His father. G. R. Moss, was a North Carolinian, who emigrated 
to Indiana and was there married in 1852 to Martha Bishop, a native 
of Ohio. One year after marriage this couple removed to .Appanoose 
county, Iowa, and located on a farm in Bellair township, which proved 
to be their permanent home. The father devoted himself energetically 
to general farming and stock-raising, in which business he achieved a 
gratifying success, and was in good circumstances at the time of his 
death in .\pril. 1900. The surviving widow still occupies the old home- 
stead and receives from her loving children the devotion due to a good 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GEXEALOGICAL HISTORY. U3 

mother. Of the nine children born to these early settlers of Bellair 
township only four now survive, and among them is the subject of this 
sketch. 

John A. Moss was born in Appanoose county, October 2, 1857, and 
grew up on the farm without incident or accident worthy of mention. His 
routine consisted of that combination of work and study which forms 
such a useful training in youth and has laid the foundation for so many 
successful men of the world. Besides attendance in the country schools 
Mr. Moss had the benefit of academic courses at Centerville and Moul- 
ton. which were supplemented by a term in Commercial College at 
Iowa City. Thus, unusually well equipped in an educational way, 
Mr. Moss joined the great army of instructors engaged in teaching 
"the young Iowa idea how to shoot," and devoted the next ten years 
to assiduous attention to this useful calling. Having a natural apti- 
tude for preserving discipline and imparting knowledge, Mr. Moss was 
quite successful as a teacher in the ordinary country schools, and equally 
so during his one }ear in charge at West Grove. Davis county, and 
five years in the county of Wayne. In 1891 he abandoned the school 
room indefinitely, returned to Appanoose county and settled down to 
general farming and stock-raising. At the present time he is a mem- 
ber of the firm of Moss & Bowen, breeders and dealers in short-horn 
cattle, which industry is conducted in connection with miscellaneous 
agriculture. 

In 1885 Mr. Moss was united in marriage at Mystic. Iowa, with 
Miss Lizzie, daughter of Obadiah and Agnes Lawton. and the children 
of this union are Everett. Orison, Wilber Earnest, Osa Ilo, Carl Law- 
ton, Mary Agnes, Margaret and John B. For twenty-four years Mr. 
Moss has been a member of the Christian church, in which he holds 



144 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

the position of elder, and lias always taken an active interest in religious 
work. His fraternal connections are with the Knights of Pythias, 
Modern Woodmen of America, Court of Honor, Royal Neighbors 
and Rathbone Sisters. 



\\'iLLIAj\I M. PEATMAN. 

Starting in life without capital and working his way to the top, 
having engaged successfully in many enterprises, a public-spirited citi- 
zen and the holder of offices of trust — such is the epitome of the career 
of William M. Peatman, and such a man deserves a place in a volume 
containing the lives of .Appanoose county's prominent citizens. His 
father, John J. Peatman, was born in England, in Lincolnshire, and 
came to America when a young man of eigliteen years. Pie was mar- 
ried in Ohio to Mary Peach, a native of Muskingmn county, and soon 
after he moved to Peoria, Illinois, but four or five years later went to 
Iowa and settled in the lower edge of Monroe county in 1854; he 
remained there and engaged in farming until 1890, when he took up his 
residence in Centerville. 

William M. Peatman claims Illinois as his native state, where he 
was born May 8, 1853, in Peoria; his boyhood was passed in the invig- 
orating life of the farm, and his education was received in the country 
schools. He was a good student and at the age of sixteen years began 
teaching, which he continued for seven years. He learned the trade 
of blacksmithing and wagon and carriage-making, which he followed 
for aliout three years. Having taken up his residence in Moravia, Iowa, 
he turned his attention to the lumber and grain business for two years. 
At that time he was elected county recorder and in 1883 moved to 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 145 

Centerville to carry on the duties of that position for one term. When 
his official services were ended Mr. Peatman opened up a real estate 
and abstract ofnce and two years later formed a partnership with 
W. G. Clark, the firm being since known as Clark & Peatman, real 
estate, abstracts, insurance and loans. With Mr. Clark he started the 
Centerville Brick and Tile Company, which has grown to be one of 
the leading industries of the city. Besides real estate he does quite an 
extensive contracting business, and is now erecting the new Appanoose 
county court house. He is a careful, energetic and capable business 
man, and his success has been well deserved because of these qualities. 
The Republican party expresses his political convictions, and as its 
candidate he was elected to the office of recorder; he also served for 
four years as mayor of Moravia during his residence there. He is a 
Knight Templar Mason and a Mystic Shriner. In 1879 he became 
the husband of Miss Ellen Knox, and two children have blessed the 
union, a son and a daughter. Besides being successful in his own af- 
fairs Mr. Peatman has been very zealous toward advancing the inter- 
ests of his city. Among other things he was a promoter of the city 
electric light plant, the street railroad and the water works. 



JERRY TONES. 

Jerry Jones is an intelligent, practical and progressive farmer 
residing in Union township, Monroe county, not far from Lovilia, 
where he owns and operates one hundred and forty-two acres of land. 
He is one of the native sons of the county, his birth having occurred 
within its borders May 17, 1847. His parents were Lewis and Sarah 
Ann (Hughes) Jones, the former a native of Tennessee and the latter 



UG BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

of Ohio. Ill early life, however, they became residents of Lee county, 
Iowa, and were there married. In 1844 they came to Monroe county, 
when it was opened up for settlement by the white race, and took up 
their abode upon a farm near that upon which our subject now resides. 
All around them for miles stretched the unbroken prairie, and wild 
animals were freqently killed in the district. Hardships and trials in- 
cident to frontier life were to be borne, but the father persevered in the 
work of developing a farm, and eventually his land became quite valu- 
able, owing to the care and cultivation he had bestowed upon it. He 
voted with the Democracy and both he and his wife were members of 
the Christian church. In their family were seven children: John 
and Henry, both deceased ; Jerry ; Martha, who has also passed away ; 
Martin, deceased ; and Levi and Mary, who complete the family. The 
father died in 1894. at the age of seventy-two years; and the mother 
died in 1900, at the age of seventy-four. Both were interred in the 
Osborn cemetery. 

Jerry Jones, the eldest of the living children, was reared in his 
native county and at the usual age entered the public schools, thereby 
acquiring the education which fitted him for the duties of a business 
career. He early worked upon the home farm, and when a young 
man he began farming on his own account and has since followed this 
pursuit. He won Miss Nancy J. Chance as a companion and helpmeet 
for life's journey, the marriage taking place in 1867. Her parents 
were John and Lettie Chance, natives of Illinois and Tennessee re- 
spectively. They became early settlers of Alonroe county, where they 
remained for many years, and in 1883 renrnved to Oregon, where they 
are still living. In the same year our subject took his family to the 
Sunset state with the intention of locating there, but at the end of 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXP GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 147 

fourteen months the\- decided that tlie\- prefenetl Iowa as a place of 
residence and came to their i)resent farm, wiiich lias now been their home 
for twenty years, and the neat and thrifty appearance of the farm indi- 
cates the careful supervision of Mr. Jones, who keeps in touch with 
the progress continually being made along agricultural lines and uses 
the knowledge which he gains concerning agricultural methods for the 
betterment of his place. In 1901 Mr. and Mrs. Jones made a visit 
to Oregon, spending two months with relatives there. 

To this worthy couple have been born five children : James E., 
John L., Charles E., William Burton, \\'illis Vernon. They have also 
reared Anna L. Jones, a daughter of Mr. Jones's brother Levi ; her 
mother died when she w'as an infant. Mr. Jones keeps well informed 
on the political issues of the day and gi\es his political support to the 
Democracy, but has never been an office seeker, preferring to give his 
time and energies to his business affairs. He served, however, as school 
director in his township for tweh'C vears, and the cause of education 
found in him a warm friend, who labored effectix-ely for the best in- 
terests of the schools of his locality. He possesses the progressive 
spirit of the w-est, the spirit that has led to the rapid development of 
this section of the country, and whatever concerns the welfare of 
Monroe count)- elicits his interests and gains his co-operation. 

JOSEPH D. BALL. 

When one reflects that the remarkable strides of modern civiliza- 
tion began with the birth of the printing jiress iti the middle of the 
fifteenth century, and that in the present century the press is the 
greatest disseminator of knowledge, and, above all other influences, 
wields the greatest ]K)wcr in politics, business, ])ublic opinion, and, in 



)48 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

fact, in all departments of life, then it is that we may rightly appreciate 
the modern newspaper and the place it occupies in every city and village 
and country place in the wide domain of the United States. And 
not only as the head of one of these important enterprises, but as a 
man of character and worth in himself, is it fitting that mention should 
be made in this volume of Joseph D. Ball, the editor of the Mystic 
Letter and the postmaster of the town of Mystic, Iowa. 

Our sul)ject is the son of Samuel K. and Sarah G. (Needham) 
Ball, the former born near Louisville, Kentucky, in 1830, and the 
latter born in Jennings county, Indiana, in 1834. The latter married 
John Buckles in Indiana and with her husband started with a mule 
team to drive to Iowa; while traveling through eastern Iowa her hus- 
band died, and with that indomitable will so characteristic of the 
early settlers she drove to this country with the corpse of her hus- 
band in the wagon and with her small child in her arms ; she made 
her home with a brother in Johns township until her marriage to Mr. 
Ball. Samuel K. Ball left his native state of Kentucky when young 
and went to Bartiiolomew county, Indiana, and at the age of sixteen 
went to Mississippi, where, under the eye of his uncle, who owned a 
newspaper, he learned the printer's trade. He later returned to In- 
diana and learned the caipenter's trade. He came to Centerville, Iowa, 
in 1856, and worked in a printing establishment two years. He then 
moved to Johns township, following farming, blacksmithing and car- 
pentering until 1879, when he bought a half interest in a printing estab- 
li.shment in Centerville and edited a pajjer in the interests of the Green- 
back party, known as the Centerville Blade. In April, 1881, he lo- 
cated at Seymour, Iowa, and established the Seymour Enterprise and 
was its editor until his death in August, 1881. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. U:) 

Josepli D. Ball was horn in Johns township, Appanoose county, 
Iowa, October 20, 1865, and spent the earlier }ears of his life on the 
farm. In 1879 he first became acquainted with the printer's trade. 
After the death of his father he returned with his mother to Johns 
township, farming and working in the mines until 1892, when he moved 
to Mystic and for six months was employed as foreman of the Mystic 
Letter. In September, 1892, he purchased the Mystic Letter of Dr. 
W. C. Griffith and in February, 1893, disposed of it to W. S. Scott. In 
July, 1893, he again bought the plant, and has been conducting it very 
successfully ever since. He has always endeavored to make the paper 
an organ for the advancement of the public interests and he has shown 
much tact in the handling of the varied matters with which the editor 
has to deal. 

Mr. Ball is a staunch Republican, and on September 16, 1901, 
he was appointed postmaster of Mystic, which office he now fills ; since 
he has been its incumbent, the office has changed from one of the 
fourth class to a third class office, and its business is conducted in a 
manner pleasing to all patrons. In connection with A. J. Richardson 
he is manager of the Mystic Opera House. Fraternally he is a Knight 
of Pythias. In 1893 Mr. Ball was married to Miss Tillie Skillen, a na- 
tive of Pennsylvania. Her father died in Pennsylvania, while her 
mother lives on a farm northwest of Mvstic. One child was born of 
this njarriage. May i. T897, whose name is Carlos Stanton Ball. 

ASA BAIRD. 

Asa Baird, the owner of the Flm Park Farm, on section 3, Ur- 
bana township, Monroe county, was born on the old homestead. Sep- 
tember 5, 1859. His father, Asa S. Baird, was a prominent and in- 



150 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

fluential early settler of the county, who located in Urbana, later mov- 
ing to Mantua town.ship. He married Sarah Tharp and they became 
the parents of nine children, of whom the suljject of this review is 
the fifth. Upon his father's farm Asa Baird spent the days of his child- 
hood and vouth, and as his age and strength increased he became more 
and more actively engaged in the work of the fields. His education 
was obtained in the district schools, and throughout his entire life he has 
followed farming, finding it a profitable source of income because of 
the methods he has followed and the thrift and enterprise which char- 
acterize his work. 

In 1892, in Troy township, Monroe county, Mr. Baird was united 
in marriage to Miss Eva Barnhill, a lady of intelligence and good fam- 
ih-, who has been a faithful companion and helpmeet to her husband 
during the ten years of their married life. She was born, reared and 
educated in this county, a daughter of William Harvey Barnhill, who 
died June 26, 1S99. his wife having preceded him on the 4th of April. 
1889. About fifteen years ago they became residents of Iowa. Both 
were natives of Kentucky and the father was a gallant soldier of the 
Civil war, serving in Company C, Thirtieth Regiment, Iowa Volunteer 
Infantry. During an engagement he was wounded in the left hand. 
In politics he was an earnest Republican and both he and his wife en- 
joyed the warm regard of many friends. In their family were nine 
children: Mary Alice, Josephine, Virginia. Anna, William, Rosa, 
Charles W., Ralph and Mrs. Baird. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Baird 
has been blessed with four children : Charles Edgar, Harvey S., Clara 
Grace and Frank Orville. 

The Elm Park Farm comprises two hundred and thirty-three 
acres of valu.nblc land, rich and productive. In additiorl to waving fields 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 151 

of grain tliere are ricli meadow lands of bluegrass, large barns and 
feed lots, and an orchard of fine fruits. The house is a pleasant one, 
and neatness and thrift characterize the place and indicate to the 
passer-by the enterprising and progressive spirit of the owner. Mr. 
Baird gives his political allegiance to the Republican party, believing 
firmly in its principles and doing all in his power to secure its success 
and the election of his friends who become candidates for office. He 
has frequently served as a delegate to county conventions. His wife 
is a member of the Christian church, and he contributes to its sup- 
port, for he is found as a friend of temperance, morality and education, 
and he believes in progress along all lines that will add to the wel- 
fare of the county. 



WILLIAM HUSTON. 

William Huston is now living a retired life in Avery, and for 
many years has been a respected and worthy citizen of the county, using 
his influence and giving his aid for the promotion of measures and 
movements for the general good and the county's upbuilding. He 
came to the county in 1865. His birth occurred in Monongahela, 
Washington county, Pennsylvania, September 22, 181 7, and his father, 
John Huston, was also a native of the Keystone state. The grand- 
father, Daniel Huston, was born in the north of Ireland and was a 
Protestant, belonging to a Scotch-Irish family of Presbyterian faith. 
He was reared in the place of his nativity until twenty years of age, 
when he boarded a sailing vessel bound for the new world, and when 
the Revolutionary war broke out he joined the continental army and 
fought under (leneral W'ashington. His death occurred in Pennsyl- 



152 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

vania when he had attained tn a good old age. John Huston was 
reared upon the home farm in the Keystone state and there married 
Mrs. Xancy (Barr) Gibson, a widow, who had two cliildren, John 
and Betsy Gibson. She was born on tlie ocean while her parents were 
coming to the United States, as members of a colony composed of the 
Burrs. Crawfords, Harpers and other families, who legated in Penn- 
sylvania. .Vll were of Protestant faith. To Ji)hn and Nancy Huston 
were born the following named : Mary, now deceased ; Nancy ; William ; 
and Daniel, who was drowned when a boy. The father died at the 
age of eighty-two years and the mother passed awaj' at the age of 
seventy-four. For many years he was an elder in the Presbyterian 
church and was an earnest Christian gentleman, a faithful friend and 
a devoted Inisljand and father, and his excellent qualities won for him 
the trust and confidence of all with whom he came in contact. 

William Huston was reared in Washington county, Pennsylvania, 
and when quite young was instructed concerning the value of honesty 
and industry in the active affairs of life. The schools of the county 
aflforded him opportunity for mental discipline, and when twenty-six 
years of age he made preparation for having a home of his own by 
his marriage to Miss Sarah Louderbeck, a native of Pennsylvania and 
a representative of one of the old Dutch families of the state. Her 
father, Thomas Louderbeck, was born there and married Jemima Berry- 
man, also a native of that state, where both lived until called to the 
home beyond. Mr. and Mrs. Huston began their domestic life in the 
east, remaining in the state of their nativity until 1865, when, at- 
tracted by the business possibilities of the west, they came to Iowa, where 
Mr. Huston purchased the Gossage farm of one hundred and twenty 
acres, adding thereto till he now has one hundred and seventy-five 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 153 

acres. The years have seen added improvements made, barns have 
been built, and there are now rich pastures of bkiegrass and highly 
cultivated fields, while an orchard yields choice varieties of apples 
and other fruit. This farm is a very valuable one and its value is 
enhanced because it is underlaid with coal. Mr. Huston has a fine 
brick residence on his farm, and this is situated in the village of Avery, 
where he has lived since coming to Iowa. 

Eight children have l)een born to him and his wife: Joseph, who 
for a number of years was a successful teacher, is now living in Atchi- 
son county, Missouri : he married Miss Martha Elder and has seven 
sons and seven daughters. Agnes is the wife of D. Nichol, of Albia, 
Iowa. John, formerly a farmer living in the village of Avery, is now a 
traveling salesman witli his liome in Albia. Oliver C. is an agricul- 
turist. Mrs. Elizabeth Love makes her home in Seattle. Mrs. Mary 
McMillan died in Monroe county. Daniel, who was a well known 
and capable physician of Wayne county, Iowa, died leaving a widow. 
William died at the age of fourteen years. The children have been 
well educated and are honored and respected wherever they are known. 
Mr. Huston's farm is operated by his sons, who are successful and pro- 
gressive agriculturists and stock-raisers. 

In 1 87 1 Mr. Huston returned to his old home in Pennsylvania 
upon a visit, and he has also visited Seattle, Washington, and other 
points on the Pacific coast. A member of the Reformed Presbyterian 
church, he served as one of its elders for many years, and his Christian 
faith has been manifest in his upright life, for he has so lived as to 
command the respect and good will of his fellow men. He has now 
reached the eighty-fiftli milestone on life's journey and has therefore 
been a witness of nuich of the growth and development of the country 



154 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

through the nineteenth century, while in Monroe county he has borne 
his share in planting an advanced civilization here. He is now a 
venerable man who in the evening of life can look back over the past 
without regret, for honor and integrity have been the guiding elements 
in his conduct. 



A. J. G. BAILEY. 

A. J. G. Bailey, proprietor of the Lookout farm in Mantua town- 
ship, is one of the most successful and skillful farmers of the locality 
and has been an imiiortant factor in the moral, intellectual and material 
welfare of Monroe county since 1864. He was born in Lewis county, 
Virginia, January 25. 1842. wdiich was also the birthplace of his father, 
James R. Bailey, and his grandfather, Carr Bailey, was born in the same 
state, of English parents, who were early settlers of the Old Dominion. 
The family had its representatives in both the Re\oIutinnary war and 
the war of 18 12. 

On reaching manlntod James R. Baile\- married Miss Christie .'\nn 
Tharp, a daughter of Hezekiah Tharp. Thoroughout life Mr. Bailey 
followed farming and by his ballot supported the men and measures of 
the Demcxratic party. Eor many years he was a deacon in the Bap- 
tist church, and died in that faith at the ripe old age of eighty-seven 
years. His w'ife was seventy-eight years of age at the time of her 
death. They were the parents of thirteen children: A. J. G.. H. D., 
C. B., J. W. and John E., who are still living: Mrs. Minnie Reed, who 
died in Virginia ; Cynthia .\nn, who died at the age of twenty years ; 
Elzire Bird, who died in Virginia : Nancy, who died in Baltimore, 
Maryland; Paschal B., deceased: and three who died young. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 155 

During liis Ixiyhuod and youtli .\. J. G. Bailey pursued iiis educa- 
tion in the scliools of liis native county, and having accjuired a good 
education he successfully engaged in teaching for three terms. On the 
1 8th of October, 1863, he was united in marriage to Miss Matilda Ann 
Woofter, who was also Ixirn, reared and educated in Lewis county, 
Virginia, of which state her parents. Amos and Catherine (Shannan) 
Woofter. were life-long' residents, being of German descent. Her 
father died at the age of eighty and the mother at the age of sixty 
years. Their children were Marion; Albert, deceased, who was a 
soldier of the Civil war and was confined in Libby prison for a time; 
Matilda Ann, wife of our subject ; Mrs. Sarah Williams ; Mrs. Mary A. 
Moneypenny, deceased; Norval, of Virginia; Mrs. Amelia Hindman, 
deceased ; and Lydia, deceased. The parents were members of the 
Methodist Episcopal church, and the father was a Republican in poli- 
tics. 

The children born to ATr. and Mrs. Bailey are as follows: Mrs. 
Sarah Morgan, now deceased ; Mrs. Amanda C. Monroe, a resident of 
Albia. Iowa; Thomas, of Mantua township; A. Grant, of Troy town- 
ship; Amos, who dietl at the age of twenty-four years, a most promis- 
ing young man, honored and resjjected by all who knew him; Lizzie, 
at home ; Charles, a resident of Appanoose county ; Eva lona and Lulu, 
both at home; E\e and Noah died in infancy. The family is one of 
prominence in the cc;mmunit\' where they reside. 

Mr. Bailey remained in Virginia until 1864, when he came to 
Monroe county, Iowa, and here followed carpentering as well as farm- 
ing for some time. In 186S he ]nuchased his present farm in Man- 
tua township, and today has one of the best impro\ed places of the 
locality. His house is commodious, well furnished and comfortable, 



156 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

his barns and outbuildings are good and substantial; there is a good 
orchard upon the place, and all tlie conveniences and accessories of a 
model farm are here found. His house was erected in 1894 at a cost 
of eighteen hundred dollars. He keeps a good grade of horses and 
cattle, and has met witli success both as a general farmer and stock- 
raiser. 

Politically Mr. Bailey is identified with the Republican party; has 
served as a delegate to its conventions, has filled the oftice of justice of 
the peace in a most acceptable manner, was assessor in 1871 and is now 
serving as trustee of his township. He is officially connected with the 
German Baptist church, and is a man of kindly, genial disposition, who 
makes friends wherever he goes, and has the entire confidence and 
respect of those with whom he comes in contact either in business or 
social life. 

C. V. MASON. 

The life of the tiller of the soil, while it has many hardships and 
uncertainties whicli make it unattractive to many, is after all the basis 
of the world's industries, and in all the ages of history men have fol- 
lowed it, not from necessity but l>ecause they were drawn to it by the 
natural desire to make the earth bring forth after its kind and because 
it afforded the most independent existence among the pursuits of man- 
kind. But now the old prejudices against farming are being dispelled 
by the new and scientific methods which tend to remove the fonner 
hap-hazard results and place it upon the most substantial basis. And 
among the young and progressive farmers of Monroe county who take 
rank with those who will be the leaders of agriculture in the first part 
of the twentieth century is C. V. Mason. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 157 

His fatlier. J- ^\ ■ Mason, was a natixe of the state of Missouri 
and removed to Jefferson county, Iowa, when quite young, and wliile 
yet a young man came to Monroe county, where in 1R61 lie was married 
to Martha J. Barnes, a native of Indiana: her father, Jesse Barnes, 
was a native of Kentucky and was a pioneer settler of Cedar township, 
Monroe county, and Iiis wife's name was Ehza Ann Hogland ; Jesse 
Barnes died in Monroe county, but his wife is still living. I. W. 
Mason was a Republican in political sympathies, and he and his wife 
were members of the United Brethren church. He passed away in 
1884 at the age of forty-two, but his wife is still living with the sub- 
ject of this sketch; there were se\en children born to them, three sons 
and four daughters : Jf)hn A., Minnie L., Eli A., Carrie, C. V., Esta, 
and Cora Mae. 

C. V. Mason was ushered into the world in Monroe county, Jan- 
uary 25, 1871, was reared to manhood under the hardy discipline of 
the home farm in Wayne township and there received his education 
in the country schools. In November of 1893 he was married to Min- 
nie M. Davis, who is a native of Hancock county, Illinois, and a daugh- 
ter of Eugene Davis, a native of Ohio; she spent her childhood in Illi- 
nois and came to Iowa after she had reached maturity. Mr. and Mrs. 
Mason have three sons, Clifford J., Paul E. and Dwight D. Mr. 
Mason casts his vote for the Republican party and he and his wife are 
faithful members of the United Brethren church. He has made a 
success of farming and he and his family stand high in the regard of 
his fellow citizens. 



158 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

HARRISON HICKENLOOPER. 

After a somewhat stormy life, the gentleman above named is now 
taking things more quietly at his home in Albia. He is an interesting 
man to know, and one of those who, when well known, it is impossible 
not to esteem. A shattered arm bears mute testimony that he was well 
at the front during the national peril, and that he did not hesitate to 
bare his breast to the leaden storm that was hurled from the south 
against the defenders of the Union. Mr. Hickenlooper has many thrill- 
ing stories to tell of those troubled times, in whicli he shared his full 
part of the dangers and bore his portion of the burdens in order, as the 
great President Lincoln said, "that this nation might li\-e." Like most 
of the other veterans. Mr. Hickenl(X>per pro\ed himself as useful in 
peace as he had been brave in war, and when it was all over took up 
the threads of life where lie had (lrn])])ed them to enlist, and joined 
the busy workers at home, who were engaged with the various vocations 
of a ])rosperous commonwealth. So far back that "the memory of 
man runneth not to the contrary," as the law writers say, the Hicken- 
looper familv were estalilishcd in Pennsylvania, and for many genera- 
tions identified with its agricultural development. For the purposes 
of this sketch the genealogy will begin with Thomas Hickenlooper. who 
was born in western Pennsyhania in 1793. and in early manhfjod en- 
gaged in the manufacture of salt, lie married Julia A. Hawkins, also 
of the Keystone state, and in 184C) emigrated with his family to Iowa, 
where he located on a fanu in Monroe county. The father died in 
•1881. the mother in 1890. and of their ten children all but three are 
living. 

Harrison Hickenlooper was born in .\rmstrong county. Pennsyl- 
vania. April J I, 1840. and consequently was six years old when his 




HARRISON HICKENLOOPER. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 101 

parents came to this state. He grew up in Monroe covmty and was 
still living at home when the outbreak of the Civil war drove all 
thoughts from his mind save the single determination to join the throng 
then rushing to the defense of the Union. In May, 1861. he enlisted 
in Company E, Sixth Regiment, Iowa \'olunteer Infantry, under 
Captain Henry Sanders, and with this command took part in all the 
early campaigns of the western army. During this period he partici- 
pated in the battles of Shiloh, Black River, Jackson, the sieges of 
Corinth and Vicksburg, not to mention the many intervening engage- 
ments of a minor nature. At the battle of Missionary Ridge Mr. Hick- 
enlooper received a gimshot wound in the arm, which so badly shat- 
tered that member as to necessitate his removal to the hospital at Chat- 
tanooga, from which place he was taken to Nashville. Up to the time 
of this accident he had not lost a moment's time from his company, 
but reported promptly for duty every day after his enlistment. The 
injury above mentioned, however, was so severe as to incapacitate him 
for future duty, and he received his discharge for disabilit\- after a 
faithful service of two years and nine months. After his release from 
the army Mr. Hickenlooper returned home and put in a crop on his 
father's farm. Later he taught school a while, and in the fall of 1865 
was elected treasurer of the county, in which office he served four 
years. When his time expired he kept a bookstore, and then acted as 
agent for the American Express Company until his re-election to the 
country treasurership in 1874. After serving the term of two }-ears 
he was again elected and finished his career in this ofhce in 1880, but 
afterward was appointed deputy treasurer and has served several years 
in that capacity. He has always been an active Republican and recalls 
with pride the fact that his first i)residential vote was cast for .\braham 



162 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

Lincoln, wlien tliat great patriot and statesman was making the race 
for his second term. Besides his long tenure of the office of county 
treasurer, he served six years in the office of justice of the peace, and 
has heen a local leader of his party e\er since he returned from the 
army. 

Xnvemher 13. 1K67, Mr. Hickenlooper was married to Sarah J., 
daughter of Samuel and Jane (George) Wallace, nati\-es of Virginia, 
who came to Iowa in 1854. Mrs. Hickenlooper was born in Virginia, 
March 7, 1S45. and died at Albia, Feliruary 24. 1900. She was a de- 
voted member of the United Presbyterian church, and all who knew her 
intimately speak highly of her virtues as a woman, wife and mother. 
Of the four children of Mr. and Mrs. Hickenlooper, Clara died in Albia 
at the age f)f twenty-four }'ears ; Mildred married Albert F. Ewers 
and has one daughter, l{dn;i : Wallace, civil engineer, who graduated 
from the biwa uni\'ersity, is in business at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, 
and Edna remains at home with her father. Mr. Hickenlooper is a 
member of the Knights of Pythias, has been an Odd Eellow for thirty 
years, and belongs to Orman Post, Grand .\rmy of the Republic. He 
was a charter member of the last mentioned order and has been hon- 
ored by his old war comrades witli all the offices in the local organiza- 
tion. 



J. W. GILBERT. 

A life devoted to agricultural jjursuits is naturally peaceful and 
free from many of the striking features which characterize men in 
more hazardous callings, but to be a successful farmer, nevertheless, 
requires all the resolute purpose, the energy and the careful manage- 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 163 

ment which are necessary to any business ; and in J. W. Gilbert we see 
a man who is a farmer, representative of these qualities, and one of the 
leading men in his line in the county of Monroe. His father, William 
Gilbert, was a native of the old Green Mountain state, born there in 
the early years of the past century ; he joined the great tides of emigra- 
tion which were constantly streaming westward from the less favored 
sections of the east to the fertile areas of the west, and on reaching 
Iowa in 1854 settled on a large farm of seven hundred acres in Jackson 
township, Monroe county, where he w"as an extensive farmer for the 
rest of his life. He was one of the earliest supporters of the Repub- 
lican party and was a member of the Christian church. Before coming 
west he had married Elizabeth Hickocks, who was a native of the state 
of Connecticut. She became the mother of fifteen children, and of 
them six are living at the present time. The elder Gilbert died in 
Jackson township in 1878, aged sixty-six, and his wife died in Lucas 
county in 1902. 

J. W. Gilbert was the fourth child and his birth occurred in Jack- 
son county, Indiana, June 7, 185 1. He came to Iowa when three 
years of age and received his education in the schools of Melrose. In 
1879 he was married to Miss Sarah A. Thompson, a native of Kansas 
and the daughter of B. F. Thompson, of the same state. Six children 
blessed this marriage, one son and five daughters : Amasa, Cora, the 
wife of Elmer Adcock; Eifie, Pearl, Milly, and Macey. Mr. Gilbert 
has always followed farming and is recognized as one of the representa- 
tive citizens of the county. In politics he has adopted the choice of 
his father and votes for the Republican party, and his church mem- 
bership is with the United Brethren. 



104 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

VV. A. KNAPP. 

W. A. Kiiapp has always lived in the Mississippi valley, his birth 
having occurred in Switzerland county, Indiana. His parents were 
John J. and Sarah Knapp, and under the parental roof he was reared. 
He has been a resident of Iowa since 1855 and lias taken an active and 
helpful interest in everything pertaining to the general g<X)d and pro- 
gress of the communities with which he has been connected. At the 
time of the Ci\il war he put aside all business and personal consid- 
erations and offered his services to the government, enlisting as a mem- 
ber of Company G, Twenty-first Missouri Infantry, with which he went 
to the front. He participated in a number of hotly contested battles, 
including the two days' engagement at Shiloh and the two days" contest 
at Corinth. He was also in the battle of Tupelo and others of lesser 
importance and was always found as a faithful follower of the old flag, 
ne\'er wa\ering in his allegiance to the Union cause. He was honorably 
discharged in July, 1865, and returned home as one of the heroes of 
the Civil war, to whom the country owes a delit of gratitude that it 
can never repay. In the battle of Tupelo he was wounded by a piece of 
shell which injured him consideralily and he now receives a well de- 
served pension. 

Mr. Knapp has a wide reputation as a penman, Ixith for his skill as 
a writer aiul as a pen artist, his ability in this direction being of a very 
superior order. He is now a teacher of penmanship and his artistic 
work in this regard is almost unsurpassed. 

On the ,^oth of .Vugu.st. i8(')5, Mr. Knapp was united in marriage 
to Miss Isabelle Trussell, the wedding ceremony being j^erformed by 
George Osborn, justice of the peace. Their union has been blessed 
with a large family of eleven children, namely : Viola Jane, who was 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 165 

born January 6, i8()7. and died tlie same year; Mary C, who was born 
November lo, 1869. and died March 8, 1885; Priscilla, born April 5, 
1872, wlio died tlie same day; Mahlon, Ixirn March 22, 1873; Lilhc, 
born July 30, 1874, who died December 4, 1897; Sarah E., who was 
born March 6, 1878, and died December 8, 1878; Dorothy, wlio was 
born December 9, 1879, and died December 25, 1879; Albert R., born 
April 23. 1881; Clarence Winchester, born December 15, 1882; Emma, 
who was born March 17, 1884, and died the same year; and Melvin M., 
born July 20, 1886. 

In 1889 Mr. Knapp remo\ed to Moravia and has since been ac- 
counted one of the prominent and influential residents of this place. 
He was honored with the office of mayor of the city, which he filled for 
a term of five years. His administration was i)ractical, business-like 
and progressive and he retired from office as he had entered it, with 
the confidence and good will of all concerned. He received the high 
commendation of all law-abiding citizens and his course was one wliich 
proved of benefit to the town. In 1894 he was president of the board 
of trustees of Union township. In politics he has always been a Re- 
publican, prominent in the work of the party and doing everything in 
bis jxjwer to promote its growth and insure its success. He feels it to 
be one of the duties of citizenship to uphold political views in which 
are embodied the best ideas of good go\ernnient. He has delivered 
a number of campaign addresses in behalf of the party and his in- 
fluence has been of no restricted order. Xcither has the moral nature 
of man been neglected in the life work of Mr. Knapp, who is an or- 
dained elder of the Christian church, lie has filled many pulpits and 
in many public addresses has set forth the value of Christianity to 
the world and the plan of redemption as exemplified by the Nazarene 



lOG BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

teacher. Thus has he laljorcd along inaii)' lines for tlie upbuilding of 
his countr)' and his people, and no man in all the community is more 
desening- of the respect, confidence and good will of his fellow towns- 
men than is W. A. Knapp. 



J. W. HALDEN. 

J. W. Haldcn is an enterprising business man of Moravia, where 
he has made his home since 1899, and where he is engaged in the drug 
business. He was born in Monmouth, Illinois, July 20, 1863, a son of 
J. W. and Jessie D. Halden, who in 1869 removed from Illinois to 
Iowa, settling upon a farm in Warren county. The subject of this re- 
view was then only six years of age. In that county he entered the 
public schools, gaining a good knowledge of the common English 
branches of learning, while upon the home farm he received ample 
training in the work of tilling the soil and cultivating the fields. In 
1880 he removed to Centerville, Iowa, and in 1889 became a factor 
in official life there, being appointed to the position of deputy sheriff. 
Tlie following year he was appointed city marshal and discharged his 
duties with promptness and fidelity and without fear or favor. After 
retiring from the office he removed to Moulton in September, 1893, 
and resided there for six years, coming thence to Moravia in 1899. 
Here he has since carried on business as a druggist and now has a 
well appointed store, in which he carries a complete line of drugs 
and kindred articles. Because of the neat appearance of the store 
and the honorable dealing of the proprietor, combined with his rea- 
.sonable prices and earnest desire to please his customers, he has se- 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 167 

cured a liberal patronage, wliich is constantly growing, and which is 
well merited. 

Mr. Halden was united in marriage in the year 1891 to Miss 
Etta Berry, and to tliein have been born four chidren, but only two are 
now living. Myrl, who was burn on the ist of July. 1892, died on 
the 5th of May. 1901. Berry F., born .\pril 13, 1894, is still with his 
parents. Jessie D., born July 31, 1897, passed away on the 5th of 
February, 1899, when only two years of age, and Vivian, born on the 
iith of October. 1902, conijiletes the family. Mr. Halden has been 
quite prominent in fraternal circles. He was initiated into the mys- 
teries of Masonry, in which he has attained the third degree, and he 
also belongs to the Odd Fellows, in which he has filled the office of sec- 
retary. He is likewise connected with the Modern Woodmen of Amer- 
ica. Well kn(5wn in militar\- circles, he served for nine years as a 
member of Company E, Second Regiment. Iowa National Guard, and 
was successively corporal, sergeant and orderly sergeant. Mr. Halden 
is yet a young man, imbued with the progressive spirit of the west, and 
his genial manner, social nature and kindly disposition have made him 
popular with a large circle of friends, while in business affairs he has 
won success through close application and energA'. 

H. C. ESCHB.\CH. M. D. 

During a residence at Albia of sonic fourteen }ears, the gentleman 
above named has impressed himself quite favorably upon the com- 
munity both as a man and a ])liysician. Before coming from the east 
he obtained an excellent education, Ixitb literary and professional, and 
this has been so im])roved upon by subsequent study and observation. 



16S BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

to say nothing of his practical experience, that it may truthfully be 
said that Dr. Eschbach is now one of the best informed men in his 
profession. If proof of this were needed, it is furnished by the fact of 
his membership in so many prominent medical associations, and the 
active part he takes in their deliberations. Dr. Eschbach's grand- 
parents were natives of the German Palatinate and after their emigra- 
tion to the United States located in Pennsylvania, where they spent 
the remainder of their days. The Doctor's parents were David and 
Sarah Eschbach, both natives of Pennsylvania, who spent their lives in 
agricultural pursuits, and died at the respective ages of seventy-eight 
and sixty-nine years. They had eight children, of whom four are 
living. 

H. C. Eschbach, one of the younger of his father's surviving chil- 
dren, was born October 23, 1856, in that part of Northumberland 
county, Pennsylvania, known as "Paradise." He was reared on the 
farm, and in addition to the attendance at the public school had the 
benefit of courses at the Limestoneville and Turbut\ille Academies, and 
Franklin and Marshall Colleges at Lancaster. He was graduated at the 
last mentioned institution in 1880 and shortly after entered the medical 
department of the Pennsylvania University, where he was graduated 
with the class of 1883. Equipped with a diploma from the famous 
college, Dr. Eschbach turned his face toward the setting sun and 
sought in the boundless west opportunities for rising in the profession 
he had chosen for his life's work. 

He located first at Des Moines, where he practiced two years, and 
from there went to Monroe the capital of Jasper county. Tliree years 
were devoted to practice at this place and in January, 1888, Dr. Esch- 
bach selected what proved to be his final location at Albia and here has 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 169 

remained up to the present time in general practice as a physician and a 
surgeon. He is an esteemed member of nearly all of the more promi- 
nent organizations devoted to the advancement or the promotion of the 
welfare of individual practitioners. Included in this last are the Des 
Moines and Iowa State Medical Associations, the International Asso- 
ciation of Railway Surgeons, American Medical Association, and the 
Tri-State Medical Association. Dr. Eschbach is surgeon for the Iowa 
Central Railroad Company, and his professional work in that position 
has given entire satisfaction to his employers. In i8g2 Dr. Eschbach 
was united in marriage with Miss Augusta Coe, by whom he has three 
children. He holds membership in the Benevolent and Protective Order 
of Elks and is as popular in social circles as he is esteemed in the pro- 
fessional world. 



CHARLES G. HOOVER. 

Dentistry, like many other professions, has reached its present high 
point of development within the past few years and now rests on a scien- 
tific basis, requiring l>esides the qualities that are common to all pro- 
fessions remarkable care and accuracy and patience. The town of 
Albia, Monroe county, Iowa, is fortunate in having among her profes- 
sional men one of the leaders in this important branch of modern aids 
to the increase of physical health and comfort, and it is the purpose of 
this sketch to briefly narrate some of the main facts of his career which 
will be of interest to the many readers of this historical volume. 

Tlie parents of our subject were John C. and Mary (Wintermote) 
Hoover; the father was a native of Germany and the mother of New 
Jersey ; the former, who was a farmer through the years of his business 



170 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

activity, was a soldier in the Civil war, having been a member of the 
Fortieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry; he returned from the service shat- 
tered in health, and as a result died at the early age of thirty, December 
24, 1869, leaving two children. John C. Hoover was his wife's sec- 
ond husband ; her first husband was Ferdinand Hoover, by whom she 
had two children ; her third husband is Dennis Druley, of which union 
there were no children; they now live in Boston, Indiana. 

Born of the above parents in Greenville, Ohio, on the 23d of 
April. 1867, was Charles G. Hoo\er. He was reared in his native 
state and acquired his preliminary education in the public schools of the 
vicinity and of Yellow Springs, Ohio, also gaining much of the strength 
necessary for his life work on his father's farm. Having decided to 
study dentistry he attended the Indiana Dental School at Indianapolis 
and in 1891 received his degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery. For 
two years following his graduation he worked in a dental office at 
Manitowoc. Wisconsin, and in 1893 came to Albia and established an 
office, where he has ever since continued with success that has been 
gratifying to himself and friends. He keeps up with the progress of his 
profession and is a member of the Iowa Dental Society and of the 
Southwestern Iowa Dental Society. 

In 1894 Mr. Hoover was married to Miss Olive M. Wright, the 
daughter of Samuel W. and Marietta (Hancock) Wright, of Albia. 
Two children are now in their home, Harry Kenneth and Wendell 
Wright. Mr. and Mrs. Hoover are members of the Christian church, 
and he is a chapter Mason and Royal Arch Mason. Mr. Hoover 
claims especial distinction from the fact that he is a self-made man, 
having had few of the favoring winds of fickle fortune to carry him 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 171 

to success, but having become what he is by his own diHgent and per- 
sonal application. 



ROBERT THOMAS BARTRAM, M. D. 

Among tlic physicians of Albia who command the confidence of the 
people to a high degree and enjoy a large clientage because of their 
skill in the treatment of the ills that flesh is heir to, is Dr. Bartram, 
who is recognized not only as an expert in his profession but also as 
a man of high character and one who through his own efforts has 
gained the place whicli he now occupies, in other words, a man who is 
the architect of his own fortunes. 

Doctor Bartranr is the son of English parents, Robert and Mary 
(Stokes) Bartram being born, reared and married in that country, 
and while there two sons and two daughters were born to them. The 
family came to the United States in 1852 and settled on a farm in 
Kendall county, Illinois; from here they removed to Iowa about 1874 
and located in Warren county, where both passed away, Mrs. Bar- 
tram dying in 1884 at the age of fifty-six, and her husband in 1894 
at the age of seventy-four. Four sons and four daughters were born 
to them in America, and thus they were the parents of twelve children. 

Robert Thomas was born while his parents resided in Kendall 
county, Illinois, the date of his birth being January 25, 1853. He was 
reared on a farm and received his education in the country schools, 
after which he taught for two terms. Having been attracted to the 
medical profession he began his study when twenty-five years old and 
in 1886 graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of 
Keokuk, Iowa ; he then came to .\lbia, where he has become one of the 



172 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

successful practitioners. He owns a well equipped office, a good medi- 
cal library, and he has always been a hard student, having taken post- 
graduate courses in the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Keo- 
kuk. 

Dr. Bartram was twice married; his first wife, whom he married 
in 1881, was Miss Henrietta J. Stare, who died in 1891, leaving two 
children, Fern and Ida. In 1893 he became the husband of Emma S. 
Snodgrass, and their children are Margarette and Lois. He and his 
wife are members of the Presbyterian church and stand high in the 
social circles of the city. 



FRED D. EVERETT. 

The world, and .America in particular, will never grow tired of 
praising the "self-made" man, one who begins life with none of the 
often fictitious helps, such as wealth, position or a family name, and 
by consistent and hard "plugging" forges forward to a position in the 
front rank ; when this man has won the contest he often bears none of 
the signs of the struggles and disappointments through which he has 
passed, but to those who know his whole life he seems deserving of his 
success and well worthy a place among the leaders of men. The popular 
young lawyer of Albia, Iowa, Fred D. Everett, is one of this class, 
and in the long future which is before him a highly prosperous career 
seems to be marked out for him. 

Mr. Everett comes from a good mingling of nationalities, the pro- 
gressiveness of his English father being supplemented with the sturdy 
qualities of a Swiss mother; he is the son of John and Bertha (Demuth) 
Everett, the former born in England and the latter in Switzerland, 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 173 

both coming to America in childhood. They were married in Davis 
county, Iowa, where Mr. Everett followed the occupation of a miller 
and died in 1900; his wife still survives and resides in Bloomfield, Iowa. 
There were only two children, a son and a daughter, Fred D. and 
Frances M. 

Fred D. Everett was born in Bloomfield, Iowa, April 18, 1876, 
and there grew up to manhood. In 1892 he graduated from the high 
school and the following year taught school in Monroe county. The 
next two years he engaged in fanning in Monroe county, and iiaving 
from these occupations saved some money and being filled with the am- 
bition to enter the profession of the law, in the fall of 1895 he began 
his studies in the law department of the State University at Iowa City, 
from which he graduated in the spring of 1897 and was immediately 
admitted to the bar. He selected Albia as the place to begin his legal 
career and formed a partnership with D. M. Anderson, which has 
continued to the present time. In the enthusiasm consequent upon the 
breaking out of the Spanish-American war in 1898 he became a private 
in Company D, Fifty-first Iowa Infantry, and served in the Philippines 
up to November, 1899. Since this time he has engaged actively in 
the practice of the law. As an evidence of his growing popularity 
and his ability, in the fall of 1900 he was elected on the Republican 
ticket to the ofiice of attorney of Monroe county and in the fall of 
1902 received a renomination and election for second term. Fra- 
ternally Mr. Everett belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
lows, the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen: he is a man 
of much public spirit, and liis enterprising character is evidenced in the 
record of his public career. 



174 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

WILLIAM C. STICKXEY. 

Prominent among the energetic, far-seeing and successful business 
men of tliis portion of Iowa is William C. Stickney. His life history 
most happily illustrates what may be attained by faithful and continued 
effort in carrying out an honest purpose. Integrity, activity and en- 
ergy have been the crowning points of his success, and his connection 
with the various business enterprises has been a decided advantage to 
Appanoose county. He is now the popular cashier of the First Na- 
tional Bank of Moulton. 

Mr. Stickney was born in Prince Edward county. Ontario. Can- 
ada, on the 8th of June, 1842. and his parents were Walter H. and 
Phebe (Christy) Stickney. He comes from one of the oldest families 
of England. The line of descent can be traced back to William Stick- 
ney, a native of England, who in the seventeenth century left his own 
country and crossed the broad Atlantic, settling in Rowley. Massa- 
chusetts. His descendants are now numerous and are widely scat- 
tered throughout the countr\-. Mr. Stickney of this review being in the 
eighth generation in America. John Stickney, tlie paternal grand- 
father, was born in Massachusetts, and after acquiring his literary 
education took u]) the study of medicine and became a physician. 
When a young man he went to Canada and was there married to Re- 
becca Barker, a native of Saratoga county, New York, and a de- 
scendant of an old New England family. Among their children was 
Walter H. Stickney. He was born and reared within twenty miles of 
the birthplace of his son William, and after arriving at years of matur- 
ity he wedded Phebe Christy, also a native of the same locality, and a 
daughter of William Christy, who was born in Scotland, whence he 
came to America alone at the age of seventeen vears. He first lived 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 175 

in Pliiladelphia, Init later tonk up liis aliode in Canada. His wife, who 
bore tlie maiden name of Rutli Bull, was a native of Dutchess county, 
New York. I\Ir. and Mrs. Stickney spent their lives in Prince Ed- 
ward county. Canada. There the former followed farming and was 
one of the enterprising and progressive agriculturists of his community. 
Both he and liis wife were followers of the Quaker church, and in 
their family were eight sons and two daughters. Three of the brothers 
are now deceased, and one brother is li\ing in Canada, another in New 
York, and two in East St. Louis, Illinois. The sisters are still residents 
of Canada. 

William C. Stickney was reared upon his father's farm in Canada, 
and at the usual age entered the district schools, acquiring a fair En- 
glish education. His training at farm work was not meager, and he 
continued to assist his father in the development and improvement of 
the home place until twent\-three years of age. After spending one 
year in New York he came to the west and for a year resided in Illi- 
nois. In 1870 he arrived in Iowa, settling in Butler county, where for 
two )ears he was engaged in farming, and during that time he was 
married. He then returned to Canada and spent six years on tlie old 
home, devoting his energies to agricultural pursuits. On the expiration 
of that period he again came to Iowa, settling in Franklin county, of 
which he was a resident for six years. He followed merchandising 
at Hampton with a fair degree of success, and in 1S85 he turned his 
attention to the hanking business at Sheffield, accepting the position 
of assistant cashier. In 1887 he came to Moulton, where he was first 
cashier of the Moulton Bank and later cashier in Bradlev's Bank. 
Upon the organization of the First National Bank in 1900, he was 
chosen its cashier, and has since occupied the position. His comjire- 



176 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

hensive knowledge of the hanking husiness, his close application, his 
unfailing courtesy and iiis popularity have contrihuted in a very ma- 
terial degree to the success of the institution. 

In 1870 Mr. Stickney was united in marriage to Miss Ellen Coble, 
who was born in Wisconsin, and they now have four children : Edwin 
L., who is assistant cashier in the First National Bank; Russell, who is 
in Los Angeles, California; Walter, a student of die State University 
of Colorado; and Edna, at home. Mr. Stickney is a stalwart Re- 
publican, and socially is a Master Mason, while his religious faith is 
indicated by his membershii) in the Methodist Episcopal church. He 
has made an untarnished record and an uns])otted reputation as a busi- 
ness man, and in all places and under all circumstances he is loyal to 
truth, honor and right, justly valuing his own self-respect as infinitely 
more desirable than wealth, fame and position. In those finer traits 
of character which combine to form that which we term friendship, 
which endear and attach man to man in bonds which nothing but the 
stain of dishonor can sever, which triumph and shine brighter in the 
hour of adversity — in thcise qualities he is richly endowed. 



DAVID J. MARTIN. 

One of the ablest and most prosperous men of Monroe county 
to-day is D. J. Martin, who resides two and three-quarters miles north- 
west of Melrose, on the place known as the Walnut Grove farm, where 
he is extensively engaged in breeding- thoroughbred shorthorn cattle 
and Poland China hogs. He started in life without any particular ad- 
vantages which would of themselves lx>ost him to the top round of 
the ladder of success, but he has hv the wise use of the talents that 




MR. AHD MRS DAYID J. MARTIN. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 1T9 

were vouchsafed to him and by the exercise of the determination and 
energ)- that were in him risen to a place where he may be called one 
of the leaders in the Inisiness and social life of his comminiity. 

AI. D. Martin, his father, was born in Ohio and came to Illinois 
when quite a young man, and from there went to Iowa, where he 
located in Wayne county, and a few years later located in Wayne town- 
ship, Monroe countv. His wife, Elizabeth S. Prather, was born in 
Bartholomew county, Indiana, in 1828, and there passed her early life. 
She came to Iowa in 1848 and located in Van Buren county, but in the 
same year her father, D. J. Prather, settled in Monroe county, and she 
remained at home there until her marriage. The marriage occurred in 
1853, and one child was born, the subject of this sketch. Mr. Martin 
married a Miss Sackett for his second wife, and they became the 
parents of three children. Mr. Martin died in South Dakota in 189 1 
and was buried near Rochester, Minnesota, where his second wife now 
lives. The mother of our subject lived on the home farm until 1884, 
when she went to Eugene, Oregon, where her death occurred January 
30, 1901. 

D. J. Martin is a native son of Monroe county, his birth having 
occurred August 8, 1854. He received his preliminary education in 
the town of Melrose, and at the age of seventeen entered Howes Acad- 
emy at Mount Pleasant, where he was a student for two years, and 
he then spent one year at the Iowa Wesleyan University. For the next 
seven years he devoted himself to teaching school in the winter and 
to farming in the summer seasons. On March 5, 1885, he was mar- 
ried to Miss Sarah Brandon, who was born in Monroe county, and 
whose father we shall mention further on in this article. She attended 
the common schools of her native county until her seventeenth year, 



180 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

and afterward received a complete business training at tlie Bloomfield 
and Shenandoali 1)usiness colleges. After returning from school she 
n])ened the first set of l)ooks in her father's newlv established bank at 
Melrose, and for four years preceding her marriage acted as cashier in 
this bank, she having been among the first, or perhaps the first lady 
bank cashier in the state of Iowa. Her sister then accepted the 
position and serx'ed in that capacitv until her marriage, at 
which time Mr. and Mrs. Martin took cliarge of the bank, Mr. Mar- 
tin being cashier and his wife assistant. This arrangement was 
continued for about seven years, and during the last four years Mr. 
Martin was the owner of a one-third interest in the bank. After re- 
tiring from the bank he returned to his farm, where he now lives. He 
has about four hundred acres of excellent land, and his place shows 
the e\idences of good management and thrift, which are largely respon- 
sible for his success. He also owns land in Oregon, while his wife has 
eighty acres in this count)' and one hundred and si.xty acres in Texas. 

In political belief Mr. Martin adheres to the Rejiublican party and 
is chairman nf the central committee of Wayne township. In religious 
affairs both he and his wife have been reared in the faith of the 
Methodist church and are active workers in the cause. They are well 
known and highly respected in all circles. Mr. and Mrs. Martin 
became the parents of six children, five sons and one daughter: Ran- 
dall, who died in infancy; Klbert C. Sterling B., Thomas, David B.. 
Mildred L. ; all are natives of Monroe county. 

Thomas Brandon, the father of Mrs. Martin, is a ])ioneer settler 
of Monroe county. He was l>)rn in Crouchtown. Tennessee, .\ugust 
27, 1826. and remained there until sixteen years of age. He came to 
Iowa in 1H45 and took up a homestead claim in I'ranklin township. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 181 

Monroe county. He lias since bought a great deal of land in this 
county and at one time owned about fourteen hundred acres, a large 
part of which he has since given to his children. He was the founder 
of the first bank in Melrose, and perhaps has done more to develop 
the material resources of the county than any (jther one man. Forty- 
one years ago he nearly suffered tlie loss of his eyesight, and his 
daughter, Mrs. Martin, assisted him in organizing his bank at Melrose, 
and to her he owes much of his success. He is now seventy-six years 
old and spends his winters on a large plantation in Texas and San 
Diego, California. Mr. Brandon is well known over the entire county 
and is everywhere shown the honor due to an old age following a life 
of useful and successful effort. 



THOMAS HICKENLOOPER. 

Monroe county, Iowa, would seem to be a good place for young 
men ambitious of official honors, as will be attested by an examination 
of the biographies in this volume. The present treasurer was elected 
about the completion of his thirty-seventh year, the auditor was first 
chosen before he was twenty-five years old and Mr. Hickenlooper found 
himself, clerk of the district court when scarce twenty-four years of 
age and but one year from his legal studies. While this makes a 
very creditable showing for the rising generation in I\h)nrc)e, it also 
gives pleasant testimony to the willingness of the older element to 
help forward deserving young men by a generous support of their 
worthy ambitions. The young gentleman who was taken from his law 
books to be made clerk of courts at Albia is genealogically speaking 
a mixture of (ierman and Irish. His grandfather, after marrving and 



182 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

rearing a family in the east, came to Iowa in the same year that state- 
hood was conferred upon this new western commonwealth. Thomas 
Hickenlooper settled in Monroe township, Monroe county, and en- 
gaged in farming, which he pursued with success until 1881, when he 
died, about eighty-eight years old. His children were : William, now 
dead ; George, Ciiarles, Theophilas, deceased ; Cyrus, Simon, Caroline, 
deceased ; Rebecca. Harrison and Thomas. Theophilas Hickenlooper, 
who was born in 1829, near Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, after his arrival 
in Monroe county married Margaret (jray of Indiana, settled with 
his bride on a farm and spent his life in agricultural pursuits. He 
died in 1887, and his widow is at present a resident of Albia. Their 
five children were Mary, Frank, Harry, Ella, deceased, and Thomas. 
Thomas Hickenlooper, youngest of this family, was born on his 
father's farm in Monroe county, Iowa, July 23, 1876, and supplemented 
his common school education by taking a commercial course. When 
twenty-one years old he left the farm to study law, and after two 
years si)ent in mastering the principles of this profession was admitted 
to the bar in October, 1889. He entered immediately into practice, 
but had been so engaged only a year when elected clerk of the district 
court in the fall of 1900. In 1902 he was renominated on the Re- 
publican ticket, and at the fall election in that year was re-elected for a 
second term, which furnishes ample proof of the efficiency with which 
he had discharged his duties. In 1901 Mr. Hickenlooper was imited 
in marriage with Miss Nora Floyd of Kirksville, Missouri, and is at 
present residing in Albia. Mr. Hickenlooper is regarded as one of the 
rising young Re])ublicans, who.se popularity and ability place him in 
line for promotion to higher Imnors. He is active in the social and 
fraternal life of the city, holding membership in the Modern Wood- 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 183 

men of America, tlie Foresters and tlie Brotherliood of American Yeo- 
men. 

BERTRAND P. CASTNER. 

Considering liis age, which is slightly ]wst thirty-two years at 
this writing, the young man ahove mentioned has had an unusually 
active and \'aried career, culminating in success which seldom comes 
even to the most fortunate so early in life. At present he is serving 
his second term as auditor of Monroe county, and iiad been elected 
to that responsible position Ijefore the completion of the twenty-fifth 
year of his age. Aside from this, however, he has been connected with 
various branches of business, including lumber, realty and loans, hard- 
ware and banking, which would indicate enterprise and energy as well 
as ability in different lines. The famil\- was of Pennsylvania origin, 
from which state his father, James M., came to Iowa and settled on 
a farm in Appanoose county. 

Bertrand P. Castner was born in Bluff Creek township, Monroe 
county, November 24, 1870. and. his mother having died three years 
later, the child was sent to the home of the paternal grandmother in 
Pennsylvania. When eight years old he returned to his father's home 
at that time in Lo\-ilia. where he was engaged in the lumber business, 
and received his education as he grew up at that place. When his 
seventeenth year had been completed he entered the lumber yard as 
an employe, later became a partner and remained with the firm until 
the fall of 1895, when lie was elected auditor of Monroe county. He 
entered upon his duties on the first of the following January, served 
satisfactorily four years, and was elected for a second term, which will 
expire January i, 1903. For five years Mr. Castner was connected 



184 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

witli the Ramsay Realty, Loans and Abstract Company, and joined 
his brother in the purchase of a hardware business. Disposing of his 
interest in tlie Ramsay Realty Company he became cashier of the 
People's Savings Bank, after the opening of that institution in the fall 
of 1901, and also erected the building in which this bank conducts its 
Business. 

In 1895 Mr. Castner was united in marriage with Miss Grace 
Esshom of Lovilia, and since his election to the auditorship has made 
his home in Albia. He is regarded as one of the most popular of the 
young class of Republican leaders in Monroe county, and no one of 
his age has a brighter promise of future honors. His religious affilia- 
tions are with the Presbyterian church, and his fraternal connections 
with the Masons. 

THOMAS S. BROCKUS. 

Thomas S. Brockus owns and operates two hundred and thirteen 
acres of rich and arable land in Washington township, Appanoose 
county, and is known as a successful farmer and stock-raiser. His 
birth occurred in Carroll county, Indiana, on the i8th of December, 
1847, ^"fl li's parents, Thomas C. and Jane M. (Scott) Brockus, were 
also natives of the same state, the sul)ject of this review being their only 
child. The father died in November, 1847, before the birth of Thomas, 
and the mother afterward married again, becoming the wife of John 
Brinegar. With her second husband she came to Iowa in 1856, set- 
tling in Bremer county, where they resided for ten years, and in 1866 
they came to Appanoose county, taking up their abode in Washington 
township, where they both spent their remaining days. Mr. Brinegar 
passing away in 1880. His widow survived him iov many jears and 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 1S5 

died in igo2 at tlic age uf seventy-eiglit years. Slie bore her husband 
ciglit children. 

During the period of his boyhcmd and youtli Thomas S. Brockus 
remained with his mother, and was therefore reared on a farm and 
pursued his echication in the common schools. The occupation with 
which he became familiar in youth has always been his life work. He 
left the parental roof when twenty-one years of age and about the time 
he was married settled u])on his jiresent farm. He was then a poor 
man with no capital, but he possessed energy and determination, and 
tliese are the best foundation upon which to rear the superstructure of 
success. He worked earh' and late, and his life has always been an 
industrious and honorable one. As time passed his methods were re- 
warded. The financial return that enabled him to extend the bounda- 
ries of his farm was judiciously invested, and he now has two hundred 
and thirteen acres of valuable land, which he has placed under a high 
state of cultivation. 

In 1868 Mr. Brockus v>as united to Miss E. Jane Hays, who was 
born in Indiana, and their marriage has been blessed with the fol- 
lowing children: Sallie, Tiionias J., Lulu M., Mattie and Lavina L. 
Mattie died at the age of four years. Of the living all are now mar- 
ried with the exception of the youngest. The family have long re- 
sided in Washington township and Mr. Brockus has been called upon 
to serve in positions of public trust. He lias hlled the office of school 
director for fifteen years, was trustee for one temi and then some time 
later was again elected to the same office, and is now serving as one 
of the trustees of his township. He is found to be a faithful officer, 
prompt and capable in the discharge of his duties and ever alive to 
the best interests of his community. In his political affiliations he is 



186 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

a staunch Rqiublican and is a member of the Church of Christ. His 
life has been quietly passed and he lias always been free from ostenta- 
tion and display, but those who know him estimate his character as 
most commendable and that he is well worthy of the respect and con- 
fidence of those with whom he is associated. 



WILLIAM L. DOWNING, M. D. 

The last century, which is justly regarded as the greatest in the 
history of mankind, is not only remarkable for its wonderful inven- 
tions in the things that go to make up material progress and increase 
the luxuries of living until the poor man is now the peer of the prince 
of several centuries back, but along with the wonderful advance 
in science have come discoveries which tend to revolutionize the 
science of medicine and surgery and raise the profession to one of 
the grandest pursuits that can occupy the attention of man. And a 
man who earnestly strives to keep in touch with the progress of science 
and has won an enviable reputation as a physician and surgeon of no 
mean ability, is William L. Downing of Moulton, Appanoose county, 
Iowa. His paternal grandfather was a native of Ireland and of pure 
Irish stock. His father, Samuel B. Downing, was born in Pittsburg, 
Pennsylvania, and came to Davis county, Iowa, where he married Miss 
Telitha Stark, a native of Indiana ; they still reside in Davis county, 
where he carries on farming pursuits. 

William is one of ten children and was born in Fox River town- 
ship, Davis county, Iowa, March ii, 1862. After a youth spent on 
the farm and in the country school he devoted himself to teaching, 
which he followed for four vears; he received his normal instruction 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 187 

in the Soutliern Iowa Normal and Commercial Institute of Bloomtield, 
Iowa. He began his study of medicine at Unionville, Iowa, under the 
Doctors Sawyers and then entered Rush Medical College at Chicago, 
where he graduated in February, 1886. For a time he engaged in 
practice at Unionville, Putnam county. Missouri, but in 1890 came to 
Moulton, Iowa. He has a fine practice and is especially noted for his 
skill in surger\-. He has been a self-made man and his success is the 
reward of his f)wn efforts. To show that he follows the most pro- 
gressiye methods we have only to mention that in 1896 he took a post- 
graduate course in the Post-Gradnate school of New York city and in 
190 1 took a similar course in the Chicago Polyclinic. 

Dr. Downing holds membership in the American Medical Asso- 
ciation, the Iowa State Medical Society, the Tri-State (Iowa, Illi- 
nois, Missouri) jMedical Society, the Western Association of Sur- 
geons and Gynecologists, the Northeastern Missouri Medical Society, 
the .\ppanoose and Wayne Counties Medical Society, and the Des 
Moines Valley Medical Society ; he is also the local surgeon of the 
Wabash and the Burlington railroads. He is a Master Mason. In 
1887 the Doctor married Miss Martha A. Coons of Davis county, Iowa, 
and the}' ha\e had three children: Inez, born June 13, 1889; Helen, 
died aged eight years; and Wendell, born on the 28th of July, 1894. 
They are members of tlie Christian church and hold a highly respected 
place in the social circles of the city. 

WILLIAM DANIELS. 
William Daniels is a self-made man who without any famil\- or 
pecuniary advantages to aid him at the outset of his career has battled 
energetically and earnestly and has achieved both character and com- 



188 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

petence. He is now classetl among the progressi\e agriculturists of 
Appanoose county, where lie owns a valuable tract of land. He has 
passed the eightieth milestone on life's journey, his hirth having oc- 
curred on the 9th of May. 1822. in Pittsburg. Pennsylvania. His 
parents were Abraham antl Rebecca ( Rawley) Daniels. The father 
was born in (jermany and the mother was born in Pcnnsyhania of 
English parentage. They were married in the Keystone state and re- 
moved westward to Ohio. They settled in Columbiana county. The 
father was a millwright l)y trade and in connection with working at 
that pursuit carried on agricultural pursuits, thus i)roviding for his 
family. He died when the subject of this review was about ten or 
twelve years of age. but the mother, long surviving him. passed away in 
Gallia county. Ohio, at the age of seventy-six years. In their family 
were eight children, namely: Joseph. John. David, Abraham, Wil- 
liam, Nancy, Mary Ann. and So])hia. Of this number all are now 
deceased with the exception of the subject of this review. 

William Daniels was reared upon his father's farm, and his edu- 
cational privileges were extremely limited. He had the opportunity 
of attending school for only a few days, Init he learned to read and 
write, and throughout his entire life has been a student, .so that he 
has constantly added to his knowledge by reading, experience and 
observation and has become a well informed man. At an early age 
he started out to cam his own li\ing, and whatever success he has 
achie\ed is due entirely to his own efforts. After living for a short 
time in Pennsylvania with an uncle, he left his native state to rejoin 
his mother in Ohio. He then remained at home working upon a farm 
until he was able to do for himself. He then entered the employ of 
a man in Wellsville. Ohio, the owner of a wholesale grocerv and com- 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 189 

mission house. So capal)l\- did he ser\e tlie interests of his employer 
and so faithful was he to his duty, that he was retained in that service 
for seven years, and was promoted from time to time with a propor- 
tionate increase in salary. On the expiration of that period Mr. Dan- 
iels left his old employer and went to California, where he spent four 
years in hunting and mining. On the expiration of tliat period he 
again started for Ohio and after reaching his destination, having made 
the trip by way of New York city, he returned to his old home in the 
Buckeye state. 

In 1853 Mr. Daniels was united in marriage to Miss Mary Jane 
Reid, a daughter of William and Maria (Depevv) Reid. His wife 
was born in Columbiana count)-, Ohio, October 7, 1833, and the young 
couple began their domestic life upon a farm in Jackson county, Ohio, 
where for twenty-seven years Mr. Daniels continued the work of till- 
ing the soil. He then resolved to seek a home in Iowa, and in 1881 
came tii this state. He located in .Vppanoose county upon his present 
farm, which comprises four hundred and eighty acres of valuable land 
in Wells township, and everything about his place is neat and thrifty 
in appearance, the Daniels farm being one of the attractive features of 
the landscape. The home of our subject and his wife has been blessed 
with the following children : James Franklin, who is married and 
is a farmer of Appanoose county ; Warren Taylor, who is married and 
follows farming in this county: Albert Reid, an agriculturist; Maria, 
the wife of Fred Hartwick; Rebecca ; William Sherman, who is married 
and lives in this county, served in the Spanish-American war; Charles 
E., who is married and at home, enlisted also for the Spanish-American 
war, but his regiment was never called into acti\e service; George 
Newman; and Vance Neal, deceased. 



190 BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

Mr. Daniels has also experienced niiiitar}- service for one year. 
He was with the American army in the Mexican war. liaving enlisted 
in the Second Ohio Regiment. In politics he is a stalwart Republican, 
having from the organization of the party been an unfaltering advocate 
of its principles. His wife and children hold membership in the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church. Mr. Daniels has now reached tlie evening of 
life and has reason to be congratulated upon what he has accom- 
plished. Thrown upon his own resources in early childhood, he has 
overthrown the difficulties and obstacles in his path antl with deter- 
mined purpose has steadily advanced until he has reached a creditable 
and gratifying position upon the plane of affluence. 

\\ILLL\M J. TAYLOR. 

For forty years William Joseph Taylor has resided upon the farm 
which is now his home, in Washington township. Appanoose county. 
He was born in Hart county. Kentucky, January 23, 1836. and was a 
youth of thirteen years when with his parents he came to Iowa, 
since which time he has lived in this state, and the work of the home 
farm early received his attention and energy. To the public schools 
of the neighborhood he is indebted for the educational privileges he 
enjoyed. After arriving at years of maturity he chose as a companion 
and helpmeet on life's journey Miss Mary E. Rucker, their wedding 
being celebrated October 25, i860. The lady is a daughter of Milton 
and Margaret (Asby) Rucker, natives of Clark county, Kentucky, 
whence they came to Iowa. Mrs. Taylor was born in Sangamon county, 
Illinois, on the i8th of November. 1839, and for twelve years she 
proved a devoted companion to her husband, but on the j8th of Octo- 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 191 

ber, 1872, was called to her final rest. There were three children born 
of this marriage : Emma Lourenna, now the wife of Frank Hughes, 
a farmer living in Washington township; Mildred, the wife of John 
S. Linden, wIkj carries on agricultural pursuits in Washington town- 
ship: and Lillian \'., the wife of Irvin Richardson, who makes his 
home in Missouri. 

After his marriage ]\Ir. Taylor took up his abode on a farm in 
Washington township, and in December, 1863, he came to his present 
farm, which is located on section 34. This has been his home almost 
continuously since, covering forty years. He has here one hundred 
and twenty acres of rich land and his efforts have transformed it into 
a valuable tract, neat and thrifty in appearance, having all the evidence 
of careful supervision and progressive cultivation. Mr. Taylor votes 
with the Democracy. He has had no desire for public office, having 
always preferred to give his attention to his business affairs, in which 
he has met with creditable and well merited success, so that he is now 
the owner of a rich and \aluable farm which annually returns to him 
a good income. 



\\TLLL\M FRANKLIN SWARTS. 

William Franklin .Swarts, now deceased, was a respected citizen 
and enterprising farmer of Appanoose county, living in W'ells town- 
ship. He was born in Highland county, Ohio, on the 8th of September, 
1850, and was the youngest of six children born to Frederick and 
Phebe Ann Swarts, of whom further mention is made on another page 
of this work in connection with tlie sketch of C. V. Swarts, now an 
enterprising farmer of Wells township. 



192 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

William Franklin Swarts spent his early youth in the state of his 
nativity, being twelve years of age at the time of his parents' removal 
to Iowa. They t<xik up their abode in Wells township and here he 
always made his home, assisting in the work of field and meadow 
through the summer months, while in the winter seasons he pursued 
his studies in the public schools. He was thus well e^iuipped for life's 
practical duties. The occupation to which he was reared he made 
his life work and was well known as a man of marked industry and 
enterprise. 

On the 23d of November, 1879. Mr. Swarts was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Viola Maring, a daughter of Joseph Maring, a prominent 
resident of Wells township. To this union have been born five chil- 
dren, as follows: Lee Eddie; Bertha Jane, wife of James Myers, of 
Wells township; Lewis Burton. Henry Willard. and Carrie Belle. In 
his political views Mr. Swarts was an earnest Republican and his 
close study of the questions and issues of the day had led him to ally 
his forces with that party. His life was one of untiring industr\-. 
idleness and indolence being utterly foreign to his nature. His do- 
mestic tastes made his home to him the best place on earth, and he put 
forth every effort in his power to promote the welfare of his wife and 
children. In matters of business he was ever straightforward and 
reliable, and in friendship he was faithful, his many excellent qualities 
of heart and mind endearing him to those with whom he came in con- 
tact, and when he died, April 4. 1898, his loss throughout the com- 
munity was widely felt, as well as in the household in which he was a 
loving husband and father. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 193 

C. V. SWARTS. 

When the tocsin of war sounded and tlie country needed and de- 
manded tlie aid I if all Inyal citizens for the preservation of the Union, 
C. V. Swarts was among those who followed the nation's starry ban- 
ner upon southern battleiiekls. He is now ([uietly following farming 
in \\'ells townshi]), Appanoose county, where he has become the owner 
of one hundred and sixty-six acres of land, now well cultivated. He 
was born in Highland couiit\\ Ohio, December 13, 1840, and is a son 
of Frederick and Phel)e Ann (banner) Swarts, the former a native of 
Pennsyh-ania and the mother of Oliio. On the paternal side our sub- 
ject is of German ancestry, and in the maternal line comes of English 
stock. His parents were married in Ohio and after the wedding cere- 
mony was performed they began their domestic life upon a farm in 
Highland county, Ohio, living there until the spring of 1862, when they 
came to biwa, making the journey liy boat from Cincinnati to Keokuk, 
and thence across the country to Api)anoose county. They settled in 
Wells township and throughout their remaining days the father carried 
on agricultural pursuits. He died in 1894 at the age of eighty-eight' 
years, and his wife passed away about thirty years ago. Although 
he entered upon his business career a poor man he was a hard worker 
and success attended his efforts. His jjolitical views were in harmony 
with the principles of the Republican jiarty and he was a staunch friend 
of progress, reform and inipnnemcnt. lioth he and his wife were 
earnest Christian jjcople and all who knew them entertained for them 
the highest regard. In their family were six children: Wilson K., 
a resident farmer of Missouri; Julia .\. ; C. V., whose name intro- 
duces this review: Henry, Wesley, and W. Frank, all of whom are 
deceased. Wilson and C. V. were both soldiers of the Civil war. 



194 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

Upon the home farm in Ohio. Mr. Swarts of this review was 
reared and a common school education w-as afforded him. He was 
twenty-two years of age when he came to Iowa witli liis parents, and 
this state has since been his home. In May, 1863, he offered his ser- 
vices to the government and was assigned to Company E, of the 
Seventh Iowa Cavalry, with which he served as a private for about 
three years, being mustered out in 1866. He was always found at his 
post of duty whether it called him to the lonely picket line or into the 
midst of battle, and with a most creditable military record he returned 
to his home. 

In the fall of the same year Mr. Swarts was united in marriage 
to Miss Dorcas Pulliam, a daughter of John and Rebecca Pulliam. 
They have eight children: Rosa, Emma, Charles, Lando, Alfred, \\'il- 
liam, Josie, and Claude. They also lost a little daughter in infanc\'. 
After his marriage Mr. Swarts began farming on his own account 
and has since carried on this pursuit with signal success. His farm 
of one hundred and sixty-six acres is now under a very high state of 
cultivation and is equipped with everything necessary for carrying on 
the work according to the modem and approved methods of the pres- 
ent time. In his political views he is a Republican, earnest in his ad- 
vocacy of the party, and as a citizen he is to-day as true and loyal to his 
country as when he followed the old flag through the south. 

WESLEY DONEGAN. 

Among Iowa's native sons residing in Monroe county is Wesley 
Donegan, who was born in Jefferson county, this state, on the i8th of 
Februar)', 1842, his parents being John and Margery (Roberts) Done- 





liV'.^ 


1 




1^1 11 


m 







BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 197 

gan, both of whom were natives of Ohio. The fatlier died in Monroe 
county at the age of eighty-six years and thus a Hfe of usefuhiess and 
uprightness was ended. His wife, however, passed away in JefTerson 
county in 1848, when her son Wesley was a httle lad of six years. The 
family had been established in this state in 1836, at which time John 
Donegan became a resident of Burlington, Iowa, and three years later 
he went to Jefiferson county, where he resided continuously until 1853. 
In that year, attracted by the discovery of gold in California, he made 
his way to the Pacific slope and for twenty years resided in that section 
of the country. To him and his wife were born ten children, of whom 
three are yet living. 

Wesley Donegan may well be termed a self-made man, for all that 
he has in life has been acquired through his own efforts and he has not 
only a competence, but has developed a character which is in every way 
worthy of respect. When only eleven years of age he was bound out, 
and for two years worked with a man whose services he had entered. He 
then ran away and from the age of thirteen years was employed as a 
farm hand by the day or month, working in the fields from early morn- 
ing until evening. After the inauguration of the Civil war. believing 
that his first duty was to his country, he joined the army in August, 
1862, and was assigned with Company A, Tenth Illinois Cavalry, under 
the command of Captain Anderson. He then served until June, 1865, 
and was discharged by reason of the expiration of his term and also of 
the close of the war. Investigation into his war record shows that he 
was a loyal defender of the Union, faithfully performing his duty 
whether it called him into the thickest of the fight or stationed him upon 
the lonely picket line. He was always with his company and regiment 
in the various battles in which the command engaged, with the excep- 



198 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

tion of a period when he was on detached service, and although fre- 
quently ill and unfit for duty he always reported each day. 

At the close of his military service Mr. Donegan returned to Illi- 
nois and in the fall of 1S65 came to Iowa, settling first near Eddyville, 
in Monroe county, where he worked by the month. When his earn- 
ings enabled him to make investment in property he purchased a tract of 
land in IMahaska county, which was partly im])roved. He then further 
continued his arrangement for a home of his own by his marriage, 
which was celebrated February 6, 1870, the lady of his choice being 
Miss Mary P. Templeton, who was born upon the farm wliere she is 
now living, a daughter of Adolphus D. and Mary (McGlothlen) Tem- 
pleton. One of her paternal uncles was the first recorder and treasurer 
of Monroe county. Her father was born in Indiana and about 1843, 
when Iowa was still a territory, came to this section of the state, his 
death occurring on the farm across the road from our subject's home 
when he was seventy-six years of age. His wife, who was also born 
in Indiana, died at the age of eighty-one years. In their family were 
ten children, of whom four are yet living. To our subject and his 
wife have been born eight children, five of whom yet survive, namely: 
John A., who is married and has two children: David H., a resident of 
Colorado; Mary Grace, Laura May, and Viola Pearl, all at home. 
They have been provided with the educational advantages of the schools 
of this locality and the members of the household are widely and favor- 
ably kn(jwn in this locality. 

After his marriage Mr. Donegan carried on farming in Bluflf 
Creek township. Monroe county, for one year and subsequently spent 
two years in Mahaska county, Iowa, after which he removed to Colo- 
rado, where for ten years he conducted a ranch. On the expiration of 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 199 

that decade he again came to Iowa, but later spent a winter in Kansas, 
and tlien once more estaljHslied his home in Monroe county on the old 
Templeton farm of two hundred and thirt_\--eight acres, which has 
since been his place of residence, where his time and attention have been 
devoted to its further cultivation and development. 

Aside from his farm work Air. Donegan has been quite prominent 
in local political affairs and has filled a number of offices. He has 
been a staunch Democrat since casting his first presidential vote for 
Seymour, and while living in Colorado he served as county assessor 
for one term of two years. He maintains relations with his old army 
comrades through his membership in Wilcox Post Xo. 138, G. A. R., 
of Eddyville, and while not a member of any church, he attends the ser- 
vices of various denominations and has contributed to their support. 
With interest in his county and its progress, he has co-operated in much 
work for the general good and at the same time has carried on his per- 
sonal business affairs in a manner that has made his work successful, 
returning to him a satisfactory income. 



THE REICH FAMILY. 

As the name shows, the original ancestors of this family were 
Germans. Christopher Reich was a native of North Carolina and 
lived and died there; he was a member of the Moravian church and was 
active in building up its interests: he was the father of six children and 
four of them lived to years of maturity. One of these was Henry 
Edward Reich, who was born in Salem, North Carolina, December 
18, 1814; in a school of the Moravian sect he was educated and then 
served an apprenticeship at the tinner's trade, which he followed dur- 



200 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

ing his residence at Salem. At the age of twenty-seven he was married 
and soon afterward, in 1850. came west; he started by way of wagon 
ami tlius readied Ijniisxille. Kentucky, wlience lie went by l^>at to 
Keokuk, Iowa, h'roni there by wagon he reached the present site of 
the town of Mora\ia, in Appanoose county, and settled one-half mile 
west, where a rcpresentati\e had located goveniment land for him. 
He was foremost in layiii^;- out the town of Moravia, using for that 
purpose his pocket compass and tape line : on his farm near by he opened 
the first store and also the first postofiice, of which he became the post- 
master. ser\in,i;' until iSoi. When the town of Moravia became a 
certainty he was one of its pioneer merchants ; he also dealt in clocks 
and in clock repairing, having a mechanical genius which fitted him 
for this, trade, and at an early day lie had peddled clocks in Indiana. 

In religion he was a strict adherent of the Moravian church, and 
in that faith he passed away in May. 1895. thus ending a long and 
useful life, devoted to the service of his family and his religion. In 
politics he was a Democrat. In 1841 Mr. Reich was married to 
.\nna .\urelia Herbst. also Ixirn in Salem. North Carolina, and she 
survived him five months. ])assing away at the age of seventy-two. 
Three chiKlren were born to them before leaving North Carolina, tht 
oldest daughter dying in infancy: the other two were L;uira E. and 
Francis .\. Mrs. Reich's brother, Charles Herbst, also came west 
with them and lived, married and died in this county. Tlie other 
children born to them on reaching Iowa were Mary C. Junius .\. and 
F.lla L.. all deceased. 

I-'r.wcis .\. Rv.uii. the only living son of Henry I'.dwanl and 
.\nna .\urcli,i (Herbst) i\eicli. was born in Salem. North Carolina, 
on the ,^otli of June. 1848. and was accordingly only a small child when 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 2Ul 

Iinjuglit to Iowa l)y his jjarents. Moraxia lias always been his home 
town and here he was educated. In early life he farnred; for ele\en 
years was in the sawmill business and then for about fifteen years fol- 
lowed the cari)enterinf^ trade. On December 4. 1882, he engaged in 
the grain and lumber business in the employ of W. M. T'catman. and 
in 1885 he and his brother Junius bought out the firm; Junius also 
conducted a grcKery and boot and shoe store in which our subject was 
interested. Francis managed the lumber business and in 1887 became 
the sole proprietor: in 1889 A. D. Maiken became liis partner, but since 
his death in 1897, Mr. Reich has carried on the enterprise alone, the 
firm being known as F. A. Reich, dealer in lumber and grain. 

In 188 1 Mr. Reich was married to Miss P'earl Weinberg, a native 
of Augusta, Illinois, and the daughter of German parents; they have 
seven children: II. Claude, Clarence P., Gladys P., Francis W., 
Herschel \\'., and Loren Keith and Kenneth Clare, twins. Mr. Reich 
votes the Prohibition ticket, and he and his wife are members of the 
Methodist church. Their home is a pleasant one and they are es- 
teemed members of societv. 



HENRY PERRY POWERS. 

In studying the ancestral sources of this family we discover that 
the progenitfirs were fr(jm Gcrmanv and that the name was originally 
spelled Pouer, then Power, and later Powers; and it is also possible 
to see in the character of our worthy subject some of the sturdy traits 
that be must have inherited from his Teutonic forefathers, who as a 
people still retain the characteristics that ha\-e made them famous since 
tlie dawn of historx-. 'I'be earliest .\merican ancestor of whom we have 



202 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

definite knowledge was grandfather Joseph Powers, a native of Vir- 
ginia. Thomas Powers, tlie son of Joseph, was a native of West 
Jefiferson, Madison county, Ohio; in that state he married Mary Bar- 
ron, a native of New York, and in 1851 came to Iowa; they settled near 
Centerville and spent the remainder of their days in and about that 
town. In early life he followed farming and later engaged in the car- 
penter's trade, and these two occupations made the principal pursuits 
of his life. Although he was ardent in his adherence to the principles 
of the Democratic ])arty. he never aspired to hold any public office. He 
and his wife were members of the Baptist church. Twelve children 
were born to them, and eleven of these are still living. 

Henry Perry, the son of Thomas and Mary (Barron) Powers, 
is a native of Centerville, Appanoose county, Iowa, being born in that 
thriving city on the 28th day of February. 1836. He passed the first 
twenty-one years of his life in and about Centerville and had the privi- 
lege of a common school education. AMien he became of age he came 
to Moulton and learned the shoemaker's trade, which he followed up 
to 1889. But within him there was the constant desire for higher 
things which finally impelled him to put aside his awl and take up the 
study of law. lie began reading law with \V. F. Garrett, which he con- 
tinued till 1894. and then entered Drake University to carry out his 
studies. He was successful and in 1895 passed the examination before 
the supreme court and was admitted to the bar. He then returned to 
Moulton and o])ened an office and has since been carrj'ing on a good 
practice, at the same time dealing in fire insurance and real estate. He 
owns a fine professional library and is a deep student of all the live 
questions of the day. 

In the true sense of the word Mr. Powers is a self-made man, 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 203 

and as such deserves all the rewards that have come to his well directed 
efforts. He is a Democrat, a Baptist, and a member of the Indepciid- 
ent Order of Odd Fellows. In 1879 he was married to ]\liss Jennie 
Ogden, a native of A])pano<3se county, and they have two children, 
Buhless and Harry. 



JAMES R. BARKLEY. 

James R. Barkley. a leading- attorney of Moulton, Iowa, is an 
example of a self-educated and self-made man. for, starting without 
a rich inheritance to assist him. liy the pluck that seems inborn in many 
men. and particularly Americans, he has found the way to fair success 
in life. Thomas Barkley, his father, was born in Belfast, Ireland, and 
when a }-oung man came to America in company with his mother. He 
soon moved to Iowa and in L)a\is county married and spent the re- 
mainder of his days on a farm, dying when the subject of this sketch, 
was but a child. His wife, Margaret Campbell, was a native of Mus- 
kingum county, Ohio, and early in life came to Davis county with her 
parents, about 1854; she now resides in Moulton. The only children 
were James R. and Samuel E., the latter a drug clerk in Moulton. 

James came into the world on the farm in Davis county, Iowa, on 
the 13th of February 1869. The happy da}s of his boyhood were 
passed in the tasks of the schonlniom and in the stimulating outdoor 
life of the farm. After his common school education was finished, he 
attended the Southern Iowa Normal at Bloomfield; he then taught for 
six terms and with the mone\' thus earned he licgan the stud)' of law, 
completing the prescribed course in Drake University at Dcs Moines. 
In the spring of 1894 lie was admitted to the bar and in December 



204 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

of that year opened his office in Moulton. where he lias since practiced 
and has built up a good business. And from his record in the past we 
may presage a still brighter future for him. 

Mr. Barkley is active in Democratic politics; he is a Master Mason 
and a member of the Methodist church. In 1896 he was united in 
marriage to Minnie Henke. of Moulton, and they have two children in 
their home. Robert and Kathleen. 



FRAXXIS SEIGLE PENCE. 

The mere reading of the above name would suggest that the 
bearer was born during the Civil war and that his father was a patriotic 
upholder of the Union cause. Both these guesses will be found verified 
by this biography as its details are unfolded in the regular order of 
narration. At present the namesake of the famous German soldier 
who cast his l(^t with his adopted country in her hour of great trial is 
a prosperous Iowa farmer residing near the little village of Moravia, 
but, as is the case with most of the inhabitants of the state, his parents 
were of eastern origin. How and when they came, what they did after 
coming and the subsequent status of their descendants are the main 
points which make up the particulars of this biographical sketch. Tht 
name of Pence was formerly a familiar one in Maryland, and to a 
family of this designation was born, on the 17th of February, 1818, 
a son named Daniel. His people being in somewhat narrow circum- 
stances the boy was compelled at an early age to work for a living, and 
when a young man decided to abandon the state of his nativity and 
embrace the better prospects offered by the rising young common- 
wealth of the west. Daniel first made his way to Ohio, then a kind of 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 205 

Mecca for all ambitious enii^^rants, and after reaciiing his destination 
found employment with one George Adams, who was running a grist- 
mill in Muskingum county. About the time, or shortly after, that he 
arrived Absalom and Harriet (Johnson) Foster, another Maryland 
family, had taken up their abode in the same section of the Buckeye 
state. Naturally they got acquainted and eventually became intimate, 
with the result that Daniel "fell in love" with Jane Fisher, the attractive 
daughter of the couple abo\'e mentioned. The young couple were 
united in marriage, June 4, 1843. and for several years thereafter re- 
tained their residence in the county of Muskingum. 

But Daniel had for some time been looking longingly toward the 
fine new state just coming into prominence along the banks of the upper 
Mississippi and finally resolved to join the secondary tide of emigration 
then setting in strongly for Iowa. So one bright morning in 1855 "^ 
team of horses was hitched up. the family's household goods were 
packed in the wagon and with the usual camping outfit the little party 
was soon on its way to the land of promise. It took fully four weeks 
to make the trip, but at length the weary and travel-stained wanderers 
reached their destination in Appanoose county. As Iowa was yet only 
nine years old as a state, the Fences came at a sufficiently early period to 
be ranked as first settlers or early pioneers, and as such they were 
known to the succeeding generation. Daniel signalized his advent by 
])urchasing a claim for one hundred and sixty acres of land in Taylor 
township, at a price which seemed to him dear enough, but which to one 
familiar with present prices of land in Iowa appears absurdly low. 
The purchaser found a rude log cabin on his place and also about 
twenty-five acres that had been broken for cultivation, and with this 
condition of things confronting them he and his good wife settled down 



206 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

to business. They realized tliat tliere was nnicli liard work before tliem 
and the road to weahh and ease a long and arduous one. but they set 
themselves resolutely to the task of facing every obstacle and over- 
coming every difficulty. Under the good management of Daniel Pence 
on the outside and of his sensible wife in her own sphere magical 
changes were soon wrought on tliis raw Iowa farm. The log cabin 
in time gave way to a commodious residence, fencing and outbuildings 
ornamented the landscape and the once wild prairie was brought into a 
high state of cultivation. As prosperity smiled upon him the projjrictor 
added tract after tract to his possessions until eventually his original 
investment of one hundred and sixty had grown to something like thir- 
teen hundred acres of fertile land. The price, too, improved with the 
acreage, and when Daniel Pence was called to render his last account 
he was in that comfortable condition known among farmers as "well 
ofif." As the extent of the farm and its operations increased so did the 
occupants of the household, and in course of years the fond parents 
saw^ a fine lot of boys and girls growing up around them. They lost 
three bj' death, Absalom and Josephine passing awav in childhood, and 
Harriet in infancw but all the others grew to maturity and are doing 
well in the world. Charles Daniel, the eldest son, served as a Union 
soldier in the Thirty-sixth Regiment. Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and is 
at present living in Salt Lake City, Utah. Peter David and William 
Henry, second and third of the surviving children, are residents of 
Taylor township, near the old family homestead. George Marion is 
living at Gordon Grove, Iowa : and Sarah Jane, the only daughter, is 
the wife of William Duvall and resides in Monroe county. 

Francis Seigle Pence, youngest of the children above mentioned 
was Ixjrn May 26, 1862, on the old homestead in .\ppanoose county, 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 207 

Iowa, and owes liis first name to the fact tliat lie appeared on tlie scene 
at tlie height of the Civil war. Mis father was an admirer of (jeneral 
Francis or Franz Sigel, one of the famous corps commanders of the 
army of tlie Potomac, and gave his name to the boy born when the 
German patriot was much in the public eye. Though Francis was not 
able to say, in the language of the old soldiers" song, that "he fit mit 
Sigel," lie grew up to be the kind of a boy and man that the veteran 
general would be proud to acknowledge as a namesake. At the time 
of his birth his parents were still living in the old log cabin which shel- 
tered them for many years after their arrival in Iowa. His father had 
branched out extensively in stock-raising by the time lie reached robust 
boyhood, and turning his attention to the dairying department of the 
farm he learned all about cheese-making. This furnished him employ- 
ment for twelve years after he acquired the details of the business, and 
when he himself became a land-owner the knowlede:e acrjuired in youth 
proved quite useful to him in many ways. He has prospered since 
going into business for himself, as any one may see who now visits his 
place about a mile from the village of Moravia. At present Mr. Pence 
owns the old homestead farm of three hundred and tw^entv acres, which 
he has occupied as sole proprietor since his father's death May 23. 1897, 
and lives in a brick house which cost two thousand dollars and stands 
very near the site of the old log cabin where he was born. There i.s 
also a good barn on the ]ilacc, thirty-six by fifty feet in dimensions, be- 
sides a granary, buggy sheds, feed lots and all the other accessories of 
an up-to-date Iowa farm. Mr. Pence has a telephone in his house, 
and also enjoys tlie rural delivery of mail, these services furnishing him 
quick comniunicatii>n with all surrounding points of importruice and 
enabling him to transact his business in twentieth century style. .\ny 



208 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

one who calls to see him will find out without being told that the pro- 
prietor is hospitable and genial in disposition and treats all visitors with 
the royal and hearty welcome customary in farm households of the 
first class. Mr. Pence's long residence and extensive dealings have 
made him well known throughout Appanoose and adjoining counties, 
among whose people he numbers his friends by the hundreds. 

February 19, 1893, Mr. Pence was married to Eleanor, daughter 
of Robert and Mary Jane (Xichol) Bell, of Monroe county, to which 
part of Iowa her i)arents came in 1852. Mr. and Mrs. Pence have a 
bright little family growing u]), ci>nsisting of two l)oys and two girls. 
Robert Daniel, the eldest, has about completed his eighth year, while 
his eldest sister, Hazel, is a year his junior. Ina is si.x years old, and 
little Garrett, the bal)y of the family, has hardly finished the second 
year of his age. In politics Mr. Pence has always affiliated with the 
Democratic party and confines his fraternal connections to membership 
in the order of Modern W'cxidmen of America. He and the other 
children ha\'e alwaws Ifxiked carefullv after the comfort of their mother, 
Mrs. Jane Pence, to whom they owed so much during the times of toil 
and struggle in the formative periods of their lives. This venerable 
lady, now in the seventy-eighth year of her age. is pleasantly located in 
a good home at Moravia, where the evening of her days is made enjoy- 
able bv the kindlv attentions of friends and relatives. 



JOHX A. HINOTH. 

Since 1877 John .A. Hinote has been a resident of Appanoose 
count}' and now li\es on section 25. Taylor township, where within 
the boundaries of his farm are comprised one hundred and se\enty acres 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 209 

of rich land. He is one of tlie citizens tliat Indiana lias fnrnislied to 
the Hawkeye state. He was born i\Iarch 17, 1851, a son of Peter 
Hinote, wliose birtli also occnrrcil in Indiana. The grandfatlier was 
Alexander Hinote and his ti'randfather came from tjermany to the new 
world at a \ery early day and ser\ed in the Revolutionary war. Alex- 
ander Hinote died in Indiana and it was upon a farm in that state that 
Peter Hinote was reared. When he had attained years of maturity he 
wedded Isabel Dver, whose birth occurred in that state, June 9, 1820. 
On her mother's side she came of the Montgomery family of North 
Carolina and in the }ear 1855 Peter Hinote came with his wife and chil- 
dren to Iowa, traveling" by team to Des IMoines, which was then a small 
village largel}' built of log cabins. Intlians were encamped along the 
river and were engaged in hunting and trapping, and the work of pro- 
gress and improvement seemed scarcely begun in the state. In 1856 
the family removed to Gentry county, Missouri, and after two years the 
father traded his property tiiere for a farm in Harrison county, Mis- 
souri, where he lived until his life's labors were ended in death, when 
he was forty-nine )ears of age. His wife, long surviving him, passed 
away at the age of sevent\-two years, dying in the faith of the Regular 
Baptist church, of which she was a devoted member. Their children 
were: Alexander, who for three years was a soldier in the Third Iowa 
Cavalry during the Civil war and died in BufTalo county, Nebraska, 
in 1900; Samuel, who lives in Nebraska; William, a successful nuisic 
teacher and preacher of the Christian church, who is now li\ing on the 
old homestead in Missouri; Elisha P., of Gentry county, Missouri; 
Mrs. Elizabeth Johnson and Mrs. Annice_Clabaugh. l)oth of that state; 
two sons, who died in Indiana; and F.llen Jane, who has also departetl 
this life. 



210 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

Jolm A. Hinote was reared upon the Missouri farm, and the work 
of field and meadow cKcupied a consideral)le share of his time and at- 
tention through tlie period of his youth. Tn the winter months he pur- 
sued his education in the district schools, seated upon slab benches be- 
fore a big fireplace. When twenty-two years of age he went to Wapello 
county, Iowa, settling upon a farm, and in 1876 he arrived in Appanoose 
county. Here at the age of twenty-five years he married Clara M. 
Stevens, who was a successful and capable teacher prior to that time. 
She is one of the native daughters of the count}-, for her father, George 
L. Stevens, located here at a very early day and the family residence 
has since been maintained in this portion of the state. He was born in 
September. 1814. in Indiana, and was a son of the Rev. Benjamin 
Stevens. In addition to agricultural pursuits he carried on blacksmith- 
ing and he lived a life in harmony with his profession as a member of 
the Baptist church, dying in that faith at the age of seventy-four years. 
His wife, who bore the maiden name of Maria Fletcher, was born in 
Kentucky, and died at the age of seventy-tliree years. Her parents 
were James and Nancy (Dawson) Fletcher and the latter was a daugh- 
ter of Mrs. Elizabeth Dawson, who in her maidenh«)d bore the name 
of Miss Anderson. Elizabeth Dawson had a somewhat tragic history, 
for when she was but fourteen years of age she and her brother were 
captured by the Indians during the war of 181.2, but later were ex- 
changed at Fort Pitt, Pennsylvania. On that occasion her parents and 
one of their children were killed by the savages. The Andersons were 
of Scotch descent. George L. Stevens died while visitinr his old home 
in Indiana and his wife died at Moravia. Their children were as fol- 
lows: John E., a resident of Idaho; Mrs. Jurilda Knabb. of Nodaway 
county, Missouri ; George W. ; Mrs. Clara M. Hinote; and Salathial F. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 211 

and Benjamin F.. Ixitli deceased. Tlie last named was a volunteer in the 
Indian war in Nebraska, serving" at^ainst the hostile red men, and he 
killed their chief and secured his trophies, including some firearms, a 
wig. a robe, a blanket and a gun. Later he became a prominent physi- 
cian and his death occurred in Appleton Mills, Missouri, .\nothcr 
member of the family was J. F., who is also deceased. 

For eighteen years Mr. Hinote has lived upon the farm which is 
now his home, ha\ing here f}ne hundred and seventA' acres of land. He 
calls his place Hazel Dell, and the farm is regarded as one of the best 
in this locality. He has erected a good modern home at a cost of over 
thirteen hundred dollars and it is tastefully furnished. He has a barn 
thirty by forty feet and uses the latest improved machinerv in carrying 
on the farm work. There is also a good orchard, a grove and meadow 
and pasture lands and he keeps good grades of cattle, horses, sheep and 
hogs. Both as a stock-raiser and as a general farmer he has been suc- 
cessful and for nine months he was proprietor of a store at Hiatt Sta- 
tion in Taylor township. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Hinote have been born nine children: Lawrence 
L., a resident of Pendleton. Oregon : Peter Clyde, who died at tlie age of 
seven years; Verna Z.. Richard Cleveland, Leoto Ethel, Bertha Lutecia, 
John Athel, Hazel Dell, and Paul Phillip. Mr. Hinote has served as 
postmaster of Hiatt and his daughter Verna was his assistant. He 
has also been justice of the peace. The household is noted for its hos- 
pitality and the members of the family enjoy the warm regard of a 
large circle of friends. 



212 BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GEXEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

STEPHEN JAMES and C. S. JAMES. M. D. 

The gentlemen whose names head tliis article are prominent citi- 
zens of the city of Centerville and stand high in the esteem of their 
friends and acquaintances on account of their many excellent qualities. 
Stephen James is a son of David and Clarissa James, the former a na- 
tive of Trenton, Xew Jersey, and the latter of New York ; the birth- 
place of Stephen was near Utica. New York. He grew to manhood 
much after the manner of all boys and was allowed the privilege of a 
liberal education. When the Civil war came like a blight upon the 
country, he enlisted and served three years in Company B. First United 
States (Berdan's) Sharpshooters, being made corporal soon after en- 
listment, and he participated in many battles with the army of the Po- 
tomac. Since the war he has retained his connection with his old com- 
rades by membership in the Grand Army of the Republic, in which he 
holds the honorable position of member of the executive committee of 
the national council of administration. 

After the war, during the years 1867-8. Mr. James resided in 
Appanoose county, Iowa, and then went to Kansas, where he remained 
until 1880: he then returned and has ever since lived in this county. 
In early life he taught school for a number of years, but later took up 
farming, which he carried on successfully until 1888; this year was the 
date of his removal to Centerville and he has since been engaged in 
clerical work, for four years and a half assisting Dr. Reynolds, and 
since that time doing like service for his son, Dr. C. S. James. 

Mr. James upholds the principles of the Republican partj\' with all 
the ardor of his belief, and he and his wife are zealous members of the 
Methodist church. The maiden name of his wife was Miss Sarah E. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 213 

Heasley, wlio has proved a most capal)le and devoted lielpmeet to him 
in the journey of Hfe. They have two children, Charles S. and Lora D. 
Charles S. James, son of Stephen James, was born in Emporia, 
Kansas, in 1870, and while only a little more than thirty years of age 
he has gained an enviable reputation as a leading physician and surgeon. 
\Mien ten years old his parents brought him to Appanoose county and 
there he was educated in the common schools and in the Iowa Wesleyan 
University. He then began the study of medicine under Dr. E. M. 
Reynolds of Center\-il!e, continuing from 1887 to 1891 ; he completed 
his course in the University Medical College at Kansas City, graduating 
March 14, 1891, and on March 20, the same year, opened his office in 
Centerville. Dr. James has always been a progressive and eager stu- 
dent of his profession and in 1899 '^^ '^'^"1'' '^ post-graduate course in the 
Chicago Polyclinic and also in the New York Post-Graduate School in 
1901, and in the same year did post-graduate work in Philadelphia and 
Baltimore. Since 1892 the Doctor has been a member of the Iowa 
State Medical Society and in 1900 was honored with the chairmanship 
of the section Practice of Medicine. In the line of his profession he is 
a member of many other bodies, the Des Moines Valley Association, the 
Western Surgical and Gynecological Society, the Appanoose and ^^'ayne 
Counties Medical Society, of which he is secretarj'; of the Southwestern 
Medical Society and of the American Medical Association ; he is a mem- 
ber of the board of insane commissioners of Appanoose county and is 
surgeon for the Burlington Railroad. I'raternally the Dcx'tor stands 
high in the Masonic order, being a Knight Templar and a Shriner, and 
he is also a Knight of Pythias. In politics he is a Republican. On 
June 7, 1894, he was married to Miss Blanche Barrows, a daughter of 
J. C. Barrows of Centerville. 



2U BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

ED\\'ARD K. ELLEDGE. 

This gentleman is the prosperous general merchant of Cincinnati, 
Iowa, where he has been established since 1893, and there is no doubt 
that he has materially improved commercial and trade conditions since 
he has been in business. The family has been well known in Appanoose 
county for over half a century, and no biographer of the prominent men 
of the county could well omit mention of them. But for a rounded his- 
tory of the Elledges we must take the reader back to the ancestral home 
in Scotland, where grandfather Benjamin Elledge was born January 
24, 1782. He came to America and first took up his abode in Virginia, 
then moved with the western stream of migration to Indiana, whence 
he came in pioneer days to Pike county, Illinois, and remained there 
until he was called to his final rest in his seventy-second year, October 
31, 1853. His wife was Catherine Reynolds, who was of German de- 
scent and was born July 13, 1786, and died before her husband, in Pike 
county, having become the mother of a large family. 

One of the sons was Henry V. Elledge. who was born in Indiana, 
June 2. 1826. He was reared in Pike county, Illinois, and when he 
was twenty-ft)ur years of age came to Appanoose county, Iowa, the cen- 
tury having just turned the half-way mark. Since that time he has 
resided here almost continuously ; he w-as in Davis county. Iowa, for 
about two years and in Hitchcock county. Nebraska, for four, but in 
1893 he returned and is now residing in Cincinnati. Farming has been 
his life occupation. Mr. Elledge had been in Appanoose county but a 
short time when he was married on Deceml^er 8. 1850. to Miss Hannah 
Rogers; her father was Thomas J. Rogers, a pioneer settler of Appanoose 
county, and her mother. Phoebe Shin, is still surviving in Moulton, 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. -'15 

Iowa. Mrs. Elledge was lK>rn August 4, 1833, and died at the age of 
thirty-two, on March 13, 1866, and of the children born to lier the fol- 
lowing reached years of maturity: William R., born June 20, 1853, 
is now living in Colorado; Charles R., born November 5, 1857, is in 
this county; Mary Emma, born October 13, 1861, lives in Arkansas; 
and Edward Kindred. After the death of his first wife Mr. Elledge 
was married to Mrs. Mary S. Jennings. Her son, James D., who was 
born to her of a former union. August 22, 1864, took the name of 
Elledge, and was the boyhood companion and was often taken for the 
twin of Edward K. ; they were reared tiigether from the age of two 
and were together constanth', and the former is now a prosperous 
farmer of this county. The living children of the second union are : 
Laura Maud, born September 20, 1874, and now in St. Louis ; Carl 
B., born May 2^, 1876; Eva Ora, born September 25, 1881, also a resi- 
dent of St. Louis. 

The family history has now been brought down to Edward K. 
Elledge, who was born while his parents were farming in Davis county, 
Iowa, December 8, 1863. He had a fair amount of schooling mixed 
in with the wholesome labor of the farm, and when he was eighteen 
years old he began life for himself, for the following twelve years being 
in the milling business. He was not a person to dissipate his earn- 
ings as fast as he got them, and liy 1893. with the capital he had ac- 
cumulated, he was able to start his present mercantile house in Cin- 
cinnati. His good business methods have commended him to the pub- 
lic, and he is now rated as one of the soundest and most reliable mer- 
chants in the county. He owns his own store, ^yhich is a two-story 
and basement brick block, equipped in a modern way, with elevator and 
stairways, and with a fine and well selected stock of goods. 



216 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

On November 15. 1896. Mr. Elledge was married to Miss Laura 
E. Pugh, \vho was born in this county, November 29. 1871. Her 
parents are Samuel and Dicy (Baker) Pugh. the former born in Ohio, 
July 6. 1838, and the latter in West Virginia, June 8. 1843; of the nine 
children born to Mr. and Mrs. Pugh the following came to maturity : 
Laura E., Van H., Sanford C, Lucy E.. David .K., and Blanch H., all 
of whom reside with their parents except Laura E. The first child to 
come into the home of Mr. and Mrs. Elledge was Lloyd Cameron, on 
February 2, 1898; then Inez Maud, December 19, 1899; and Lora 
Lucile, January 31, 1901. Mr. Elledge is a Democrat in political belief, 
and is a good member of the Indq:)endent Order of Odd Fellows. His 
success is not a matter of luck, but has been gained by close application, 
honorable princii)les, and umemitting diligence, which are the cardinal 
virtues in this workadav world and lead to certain and honest rewards. 



WILLL\M H. GR.VY. 

The beautiful country site known as Shadeland is the property' of 
William H. Gray and is pleasantly located two miles west of Eddyville 
in Monroe county. This place is endeared to Mr. Gray because of the 
associations of his boyhood as well as those of later years, for it was 
here that he was born on the i8th of June, 1849. The family is of 
Scotch-Irish ancestry, and liack thrnugh four hundred years is the line 
of descent traced, showing close connection with the nobility of Eng- 
land. 

(ireat-grandfather James Gray, of Barringfon, New Hampshire, 
was a pri\ate in Captain Richard Dowe's Company in Colonel W'in- 
gate"s Regiment of New Hampshire troops, in 1775, and never re- 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 217 

turned from tlie war. His chiklren were as follows: Henry, John, 
Joseph. James, Solomon, Hannah, Fanny, and Johannah, who married 
Thomas Berry. James Gray's son Henry emigrated to Vermont in 
company with a Thomas Berry. He married Eunice Goodwin, whose 
mother's name was Dunhar, and the children were: John Blake; 
Wells, who died in Minnesota; William, who died in Canada; Henry, 
who died in the United States service; Anson, in "Vermont; Hannah, 
Margaret, Abigail, Eunice, Judith, and I-'anny. John Blake Gray and 
Eliza J. Stephens were married May 15th, 1834, in Illinois. He went 
into business in what is now Burlington, Iowa, in the same year. He 
was permitted to name the place, which he did in remembrance of his 
home in \'ermont, and the lirst shipment of goods that came to Bur- 
lington, Iowa, was sent to John B. Gray. The place had been called 
Flint Hills or Shockocon. The issue from this union is as follows: 
John Stephens Gray, William Henry Fulton Gray, James Anson Gray, 
Abigail A. Gray. Mary F'rances Clray. Lilleas Jane Gray, Eunice Eliza 
Gray; all were born in Iowa except the next to the last daughter, 
who was born in Texas. 

In 1837 John B. Gray went from Burlington to Texas, where he 
remained three or four }ears, Init the Indians were so hostile and the 
Mexicans so treacherous that it was not safe for the whites, who never 
knew at what hour they might be called out to defend their liomes or 
to rescue some stolen member of some other citizen's family. How- 
ever, there were great prospects of becoming wealthy in the possession 
of land obtained through some sort of grants of the republic of Texas. 
Mr. Gray had obtained great tracts of it — they measured it by the 
league— but when the difficult)' came u]) between the United States and 
Mexico he chose rather to enjoy the safety of the states and home gov- 



218 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GEXEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

ernment, to wealth in a disputed country with all the chances of war 
before him; so in 1S40-41 he made the trip back to Iowa in a wagon, 
making frequent stops on the journey. In the fall of 1842 he obtained 
an agency to sell goods to the Sac and Fox Indians who were occupy- 
ing this part of the country west of the Mississippi river. He lived 
in Eddyville, near which place there was a large encampment of the 
Indians awaiting transportation to some point farther north or west in 
the territory. The time of the opening of this part of the country to 
the whites was April i, 1843, ^^ which time Mr. Gray took possession 
of his claim, and lived continuously in this county (Monroe) until he 
died on December 9, 1876. He did not always reside on the farm, for 
he was one of the commissioners to the first territorial legislature. 
Thus Mr. Gray's family were among the very pioneers of Iowa, and his 
son. John, was the first child born in Monroe county. 

The wife of John Blake Gray. Eliza J. Stephens, was born in Vir- 
ginia ; went to Indiana when she was three years old ; came to Illinois 
and then to Iowa about 1834-35. Her brother, Samuel Stephens, was 
the head of the family at this time; he always lived near Burlington 
and died there. Mrs. Gray's brothers and sisters were Samuel, Mary, 
Margaret. Agnes, Isaac, Elsy Ann. and James Fulton, the family being 
in some way related to the famous Robert Fulton, the inventor. 
Elsy Ann married John Webber, whose name can be found in the gov- 
ernment records of Des Moines county. Iowa. Agnes married, first, 
a Mr. White, who died, and she then married a Mr. Sturdevant, who 
held the position of gunsmith among the Sac and Fox Indians, and was 
moved with the Indians when their term of possession expired ; he died 
in what is called the Osage purchase. 

As a boy ^^'illiam H. Gray alternated his play with work and as 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 219 

his years and strengtli increased lie became a factor in the work of the 
fields. His education was acquired in the pubhc schools and thus he 
was fitted for life's practical and responsible duties. Throughout his 
business career he has carried on agricultural pursuits, his labors being 
attended with excellent results because of his thorough training for the 
work and his careful management and progressive methods. 

In the year 1874 Mr. Gra)- was united in marriage to Miss Fan- 
nie Myrick. who was born in the same locality as her husband. Their 
union has been blessed with two children : Macy, who is married ; and 
Archie E., at home. The son assists his father in their extensive fruit 
business and in the other work of the farm. Mr. Gray is known as one 
of the most prominent representatives of horticultural interests in this 
portion of the country, and sixt}- acres of his fine farm is devoted to 
tlie cultivation of fruit. He owns altogether two hundred and forty 
acres of land, his orchard contains manv varieties of fruit trees and 
he also raises the smaller fruits, so that throughout the summer season 
various kinds of products are gathered and sent to the market. In 
fruit production Mr. Gray gives special attention not only to the size, 
but also to the qualit\- and flavor, and thus the products of Shadeland 
find a ready sale upon the market, and Mr. Gray's opinions regarding 
horticulture are largely received as authority in this part of the state. 
EverA'thing bearing upon fruit culture is of interest to him and the 
ideas advanced whicli he ]>clic\cs will i)rove of practical benefit in 
his work are readily taken u]) and incorporated into the later of car- 
ing for his orchards. Shadeland is well named because of the many 
and the beautiful trees whicli adorn the farm, and through the vista 
of green can be seen a lovely lake which is one uf the attractive feat- 
ures of his beautiful country seat, 



220 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

Mr. Gray exercises his right pi franchise in support of the men 
and measures of the Rq^ubhcan part)-, of which he has been a stahvart 
supporter since he cast his first presidential ballot for General Grant in 
1872. He keeps well informed on the issues of the day, as every true 
American citizen should do, but has never sought or desired ofifice, pre- 
ferring to give his attention to the production of grain and fruit. His 
farm is splendidly equipped for the purposes for which it is utilized 
and in the midst of fine orchards and highly cultivated fields stand 
substantial buildings, including a nice residence. The household is 
noted for its hospitality, which is greatly enjoyed by the many friends 
of the family. j\Ir. Gray has made "honor" his life motto, and it is 
this which has characterized his social, his business and his political 
relations. He is always straightforward in his dealings, courteous to 
friends and neighbors, and his genuine worth of character has made 
him a man worthy of the highest regard. 

LEWIS LEROY TAYLOR. 

Grandfather John Taylor was a native of the Old North state, and 
the family had established themselves there at a time when the histor}' 
of America had hardly begun. His son John M. was also a native of 
North Carolina, but came west to Kentucky, where he was married to 
Nancy A. Wilson, a native of that state and the daughter of William 
Wilson, who came of an old Virginia family. After their marriage the 
parents of our subject lived on a farm in Kentucky for fourteen years, 
but in 1849 settled on a farm in Washington township, Appanoose 
county, Iowa, and there spent the remainder of their days; he passed 
away in 1889, aged nearly eighty-five, and his wife in 1899, also aged 




LEWIS L. TAYLOR. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 223 

eighty-five; had lie Hved one day more they would liave hved to- 
gether as husband and wife for fifty-four years. By occupation he was 
a farmer and carpenter and gained a moderate success in business. In 
rehgious faith they were Baptists, and he was a Demi^crat. To tlieir 
marriage were born nine children, one of whom died in infancy, and 
one at the age of thirteen; the others were as follows: William J., a 
farmer of Appanoose county: Holland P., who died in i860; the sub- 
ject of this sketch; Isaac \\'., of Harrison county, Missouri; James 
N., who died in 1901 ; Mary Jane, the wife of W. S. Beggs. of this 
county; Nancy A., who died in 1897. 

Lewis Leroy Taylor was ushered into this world in Hart county, 
Kentucky, March 27, 1838. Since 1849 he has resided in this county 
and his early life was spent on a farm. He devoted himself to farm- 
ing and teaching school up to 1879; in that year he located in Cen- 
terville to serve as clerk of the courts, to which office he was elected 
for four terms, eight years in all. After severing his official connec- 
tion with the county, he was teller and bookkeeper in the First National 
Bank of Centerville for twelve years. In January, 1903, he accepted the 
position of cashier in the new bank of Unionville, known as the Union- 
ville Savings Bank. While living in Washington township Mr. Taylor 
served eight years as assessor and the same time as justice of the peace ; 
also was secretary of the school district, township of Washington, for 
fifteen successive years, serving in that office from 1864 until 1879. 

In 1864 Mr. Taylor was united in marriage to Miss Miriam 
Siler, a native of Illinois, and she became the mother of two children. 
Henrietta, who died in 1900, and a son, John B., who is now in the 
drug business in Centerville. Mr. Taylor has been an active member of 
the Democratic party, and he and his family are devoted members of 



224 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

the Cliristian church, in whicli lie holds an official position. He has 
gained a highly respectable position in society and is esteemed for his 
many excellent qualities of heart and mind. 



H. H. PHILLIPS. 

H. H. Phillips is the proprietor of the Sunny Slop* stock farm, 
situated on section 4. Douglass township, Appanoose county. He has 
spent his entire life in this localit}- and represents one of the pioneer 
families that was founded at a primili\c period in the history of the 
state. His birth occurred in Walnut township, Appanoose county, 
August 16, 1862, his parents being Jacob and Sarah (Frisby) Phillips. 
The father was born in Cla\ton coimt)-. (^hio, in 1829, and his ancestors 
were people of genuine worth, active in business and honorable in all 
transactions. He was reared in the state of his nativity and continued 
his education there until the removal of the family to McLean county, 
Illinois, the home being established near Bloomington. In that locality 
Mr. Phillips was maried to Sarah Frisby. who was born in Ohio and 
spent her girlhood days in that state and Illinois, largely pursuing her 
education in the latter state. Attracted by the opportunities offered 
by Iowa, they loaded some of their household goods into a wagon which 
was drawn by a team of horses, and thus about 1850 they made their 
advent into Apjianoosc county. Mr. Phillips had but small means, but 
was industrious and possessed excellent business qualifications, and 
through his unremitting diligence and perseverance he became one of 
the wealthy men of bis locality. He had firm faith in^ the future of 
Iowa, made investments in land and also became the owner of large 
numbers of cattle and horses. As the years passed he prospered in his 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 225 

undertakings and at his deatli left an estate valued at forty thousand 
dollars. In the family were nine children, fu'e sons and four daughters, 
and those who are still living are Clara, on tiie old homestead; Lewis 
F., a prominent cattleman of White Lake, South Dakota; Howard H. ; 
Charles C, of Wahiut township, Appan(X)se county; and Perry M., 
who lives upon the home farm with his mother and sister and operates 
the fields. The children of the family who have passed away are 
James \\'., Emma, Mary and Ellen, all of whom died in early life. The 
father departed this life in Februar)-, 1900, at the age of seventy-one 
years. He voted with the Republican party, but was never an aspirant 
for office, giving his aid. howc\er, to all measures which he believed 
would prove of public g(5od, and his integrity stood as an unques- 
tioned fact in his career. Tn religious faith he and all of his family 
w-ere Methodists. 

Howard H. Phillips was reared upoji the old homestead farm and 
early in life was trained to the work incident to the cultivation of the 
fields and the care of stock. His early educational privileges were sup- 
plemented by study in the college at Quincy, Illinois, and when eighteen 
years of age he began teaching, which jirdfession he followed for some 
time in Appanoose county. His services were always in demand be- 
cause he was an excellent disciplinarian and also had the ability to im- 
part readily and clearly to others the knowledge that he had acquired. 
He lived upon the home farm until his marriage, which occurred when 
he was twenty-four years of age, the lady of his choice being Marinda 
Whistler, who had also successfully taught school prior to her mar- 
riage. Her father, Samuel \Miistler, now deceased, was born in Vir- 
ginia and his father was born near Hayestown, Virginia. Samuel 
Whistler was a loyal member of the German Baptist church and died at 



226 BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

the age of forty-seven years. To liiin and his wife were horn eleven 
children: William H.. ]\Iartha E.. John II.. Mary J.. Columhus E., 
.\iTianda A., Lewis C, Anna C, Sarah A., Mrs. Phillips and S. Walter. 

The home of Mr. and ^Irs. Phillips has been blessed with seven 
children : Carl E.. .Anna May, Luella. Walter H.. Edith Esther. Wen- 
dell D. and Martha Etta. The parents are well known people of this 
locality and have a large circle of warm friends. Their home is pleas- 
antlv located on section 4, Douglass township, and is appropriately named 
the Sunnv Slope farm. It comprises three hundred acres of rich land 
and in addition to this Mr. Phillips also owns another tract of two hun- 
dren and si.xty-tive acres in this county and six hundred and forty acres 
in Aurora county. South Dakota, near White Lake, it being well stocked 
with cattle and horses. 

The Sunny Slope farm is one of the best in .\ppanoose county, 
supplied with all modern equipments and all of the accessories of a 
model farm, on which he is engaged in the raising of high-grade horses 
and cattle. An earnest Republican in politics, he is unfaltering in his 
advocacy of the right principles and has held a numl^er of township 
offices. Li 1895 he was also elected a member of the board of county 
commissioners and served three years, making a creditable record by his 
faithful service and his practical aid given to measures for the u]>build- 
ing of the localitv. In manner he is genial and courteous, and his 
kindly disposition and many excellent traits of character have made him 
a popular citizen of Appanoose county. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 227 

JOHN W. MOSS. 

Juhn W. Moss was Ijorn Decemljer 17, 1830, in Putnam county, 
Indiana, his parents Ijeing l-'rancis and Mar\- (Webster ) Moss, both of 
whom were natives of X'irs^inia. '["he father died in Putnam county, 
Indiana, at the age of sixty-eiglit }ears, and the mother afterward 
came to Iowa, spending Iier last days in Pleasant township, Monroe 
county, where she died at tlie ver_\- advanced age of ninety-one years. 
In the family of this worthy couijIc were nine children, eight of whom 
reached years of maturity-. 

In taking up the history of John W. Moss we present to our read- 
ers the life record of one who is widel}- and favorably known in this 
portion of Iowa. He remained upon the home farm in the Hoosier 
state until twenty-one )-ears of age and his boyhood's training was 
such as to make him familiar with farm work in its various depart- 
ments. The mental discipline which he had was that afforded by tlie 
common schools and on attaining his majority he left Indiana, l>eliev- 
ing that he might have better business opportunities in a district further 
west. Accordingly he came to this state in the year 1853. After a 
year, however, he returned east and in 1855 he again came to Iowa, 
settling in Monroe county, where he has since made his home. In 
i860 he purcliased one hundred and fifteen acres of land, but of this he 
has since sold a portion and he now owns one hundred acres. Mr. 
Moss has made the place what it is to-day, a valual)le and well improved 
farm, but this statement l)ut faintly indicates the years of earnest labor 
which ha\'e i)een devoted to the farm, .\fter taking up his abode here 
he worked early and late in order to place his fields under culti\ation, 
practicing the rotation of crops in order to keep the land productive and 



228 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

following- progressive methods that have become known to the farmer 
as time has advanced. He had no special edncational privileges to aid 
him. in fact, he pursued his studies while seated upon a slab l>ench in a 
log schoolhouse. In him. however, was the strength of character that 
caused him to brook no obstacles that could be overcome by persistent 
and determined energy and his labor has been the ladder upon which 
he has risen to the plane of aftluence. There is now evidence that his 
farm is underlaid with one of the richest coal veins in the county or 
state, and in the development of this there lies in store for Mr. Moss 
a handsome competence, of which he is certainl}- deserving as a reward 
for his career of industry. 

On the 15th of Xovember, i860, occurred the marriage of our 
subject and Mary Miller, the widow of .\braham Kinger_\-. She was 
born in Ohio and by this union has become the mother of two sons, 
the elder being Perry K., who is married and has two children; and 
Riley E., who is married and had four children, three of whom are j'et 
living. Both Mr. and Mrs. Moss are faithful members of the Baptist 
church and take an active interest in its work, doing all they can for 
the extension of its influence. In p(jlitical circles Mr. Moss is also 
prominent and inlluential and is identiticd with the Democratic party. 
In 1878-9 he served as county auditor of Monroe county and from 1884 
until 1887 was tlie county treasurer, discharging his duties in a most 
prompt and cajiable manner. He has also filled township offices and 
was at one time the candidate of his party for the legislature, but could 
not overcome the strong Republican majority of his district. His first 
presidential vote was cast for General Winfield Scott, the candidate of 
the Whig party in 1852, and in 1856 he voted for James Buchanan, 
the Democratic nominee for the i)residcncy, since which time he has 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 221t 

never wavered in his allctiiance to tlie Democracy. Both lie and his 
wife possess sterling traits of cliaracter, wliicli ha\'e gained for tinem 
high esteem through the community, and the hfe record of Mr. Moss 
proves conchisively that success is not a matter of genius hut is tlie 
outcome of clear judgment and experience and that it may he won hy 
diligence and persistenc\- of purpose. 

C. MILTON FORREST. 

C. Milton Forrest is widely known in Monroe county. For many 
years he was connected with agricultural pursuits and is now a repre- 
sentative of the Consolidated Coal Company, making his home in 
Lovilia, and the qualities of an upright manhood have long been mani- 
fested in his career, and few men enjoy in a higher degree the respect 
and confidence of those with whom they are associated. Mr. Forrest 
is further entitled to mention as one of the native sons of the county 
and a representative of one of its pioneer families. He was born in 
Blufif Creek township, February i, 1847, his parents being Thomas E. 
and Susan (Harris) Forrest, Ixjth of whom were natives of Kentucky. 
During his boyhood days Thomas E. Forrest accompanied his parents 
to Licking county, Indiana, where he remained for a number of years, 
and in 1844 he left the Hoosier state for Iowa, settling in Monroe 
county. A farmer by occupation, he followed that pursuit throughout 
his entire life, his agricultural laliors being ended in death in i86j. 
He was at that time residing in Alhia. His capability and worth were 
widely recognized by his fellow men, who frequently intrusted him with 
positions of responsibility. He served as justice of the peace and was 
one of the early commissioners of Monroe county who located the 



230 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

county seat. W'liile acting as justice his decisions were always strictly 
fair and impartial, and he was also called upon to perform many mar- 
riage ceremonies. His political support was given to the Republican 
party, for he strongly endorsed its principles and joined the party upon 
its organization. He was also a devout member of the Christian 
church, to which his wife belonged, and they not only contributed liber- 
ally to its support but also took an active and helpful part in its work. 
The mother died on the old home farm in Bluff Creek township in 
1888, when sixt\-eight years of age. In the family of this worthy 
and respected couple were ten children: John \\'.. who came home 
from the army in 1863. but died s(x)u afterward; Millie C, who has also 
passed away; Washington and Richard, both deceased; Thomas J., 
who was in the army and lias departed this life; C. Milton, of this re- 
view; Matilda Jane, who was the latter's twin sister and is deceased; 
Laura, deceased ; Marion ; and Mary, who has also Ijeen called to her 
final rest. The family was certainly well represented in the Union 
army during the war of the Rel)elli<)n. John ^\'. enlisted in 1861 and 
Thomas J. in 1862, and both were loyal and gallant soldiers. 

C. Milton Forrest was reared in Monroe county and is indebted to 
the common school system for the educational pri\ileges which he en- 
joyed. When not engaged with the duties of the schoolroom he as- 
sisted his father in the work of field and meadow, and after completing 
his education devoted his entire time and attention to farming, which 
has been his principal occupation since. .As a companion and help- 
meet for life's journey he chose Miss Jane C. Cousins, their wedding 
taking place in 1867. The lady is a daughter of Moses and Nancy 
Cousins, who were natives of \^ermont and came to Iowa at an early 
day. .settling on a farm on which a i)art of .Mbia now stands. Mrs. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 231 

Forrest was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1849, and with her parents 
came to Iowa in 1853. In the family were the following children; 
Moses and Nancy, both deceased ; Washington B. ; Verness, who has 
also passed away ; Emma, ar.d Mrs. Forrest. Both Mr. and Mrs. Cous- 
ins died in 1888, the father at the age of eighty-four and the mother 
at the age of eighty years. Airs. Forrest's eldest brother was a ser- 
geant in the Thirty-sixth Iowa Regiment and her brother, Washing- 
ton B., is now a practicing physician of Akron, Ohio. ]\Irs. Forrest 
secured a good education and is a lady of more than average intelli- 
gence and culture. By her marriage she has become the mother of 
eight children: Alice, Clara Agnes, Mrs. Annie Laurie McAlister, 
Mrs. Elsie Verness Carhart, Charles E., Minnie G., who is teaching 
school in Lovilia; Nora M., and Nellie I. Mr. and Mrs. Forrest have 
also ten grandchildren. 

Previous to the time of his marriage Mr. Forrest had manifested 
his loyalty to the government by enlisting for service in the Union 
army at Albia in 1864. He was assigned to the company under com- 
mand of Captain N. B. Humphreys, organized at Albia, while the regi- 
ment was under command of Colonel Stone. Mr. Forrest was with 
General Sheridan in the Virginia campaign and at the close of the war 
was mustered out at Savannah, Georgia, and received his final pay as 
a soldier in Davenport, Iowa. He lias a warm place in his heart for 
the boys who wore the old lilue uniforms, and is a member of the 
Grand Army of the Republic and at the present time is serving as presi- 
dent of the Veterans' Association of Bluff Creek township. 

In his political views Mr. Forrest has been an earnest Rcpulilican 
since ca.sting his first presidential ballot for Al)rahani Lincoln, and he 
has been honored with a number of offices, because the people recog- 



232 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

iiize his loyalty in citizenship and his capaljility in tlic discliarge of his 
duties. In 1885 he was nominated for slieriff of tlie county, l)ut was 
defeated by L. T. Richmond. Two years later, however, both men 
were again candidates for the office and he defeated Mr. Richmond. 
When he had served for two years he was again nominated and this 
time defeated W. T. Gardner, so that he filled the office for four con- 
secutive years, and by his promjitness and fidelity won high commenda- 
tion. Throughout the greater part of his life he has carried on agri- 
cultural pursuits, owning and ojjerating a farm in Bluff Creek township, 
but in September, 1902. he abandoned the plow and removed to Lovilia. 
where he is at present employed by the Consolidated Coal Company. 

Both Mr. and Mrs. Forrest are faithful members of the Methodist 
Episcopal church and their interest in this work is manifested by the 
active co-operation which they give. They are especially well known 
in connection with the social functions and work of the Veterans' Asso- 
ciation of Bluff Creek township and at the meeting held on the 226. of 
May. 1896. when a flag was jjresented by the ladies of the township to 
the association, she dcli\-ered the chief address which we gladly give. 
It is as follows : 

"The ladies of Bluff Creek have kindl)' chosen that I, in their 
name, should have the pleasant task to ])rcsent to the Veterans' .\s.s(xia- 
tion this flag as a memento of our love and esteem. This day, the 
anniversary of the assault on Vicksburg — May 22, 1863 — is one long 
remembered by all soldiers and their families. 

"Many thoughts come to me as I look upon this flag. It recalls 
to memory the pale cheeks of women and the flushed faces of men as 
they parted from loved ones and marched awa)- to the boisterous sound 
of drums and the si!\cr tones of bugles to take part in that great strug- 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 233 

gle to do and to die for 'tlie eternal right,' and we bade you goodbye 
with breaking hearts, praying God to be witli )ou while 'His truth was 
marching on.' 

"Many never returned. They are at rest in the land they helped to 
make fr ee; under the flag they made stainless; they sleep beneath the 
shadows of the clouds, careles.s alike of storm and sunshine, each in 
the windowless palace of rest. 

"Soldiers of the Republic ! You were not seekers after vain glory, 
nor were you animated with hopes of plunder or love of conquest, but 
you fought to preserve the blessings of liberty, that your children might 
have peace, and to finish what the soldiers of the Revolution com- 
menced ; to keq:) our country on the map of the world and our flag re- 
corded in heaven. 

"Grander than the Greeks and nobler than the Romans the sol- 
diers of the Republic battled for the rights of others ; the nobility of 
labor, that mothers might own their own babes and that our nation 
might be sovereign, great and free. Blood was as water, money as 
leaves and life as common as air until our flag floated over the re- 
public without a slave or a master. 

"Now, as we look upon our flag, it is to us something more than 
a piece f>f bunting, a patch-work of colors; it is to us a remembrance 
of deeds of loyalty, of patriotism, of suffering and of duties nobly 
done, whether upon the battlefield, in prison pen, upon the lonely picket, 
or against the treacherous foe on tlie great plains of the far west. 

" 'Nothing but a flag, it is bathed in tears, 
It tells of triumphs, hopes and fears; 
It tells of hosts of loyal men. 
Who've marched beneath in davs gone bv. 



231 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

It tells of prayers of mothers, wives. 

The heart must pray though lips be dumb, 

Silent at speaks, and thoughts will come." 

"The red, the symbol of love and fervency, is a remembrance of 
the love you have for our country and her flag, and the fervency with 
which you responded when the first nuUterings of the distant storm of 
rebellion were heard, and the lightning flash and thunderous roar of the 
gims as they fired upon Fort Sumter. And when the call for troops 
was made you so bravely responded, 'We are coming. Father .\braham, 
three hundred thousand more.' 

"It was a mighty gathering from farms, mines, work-shops, 
schools, colleges, from the bar and pulpit, all over our fair north, still 
echoing that response, until o\er two million fathers and sons were in 
arms to protect our Union. Many boys there were — no older than 
those upon this platforhi — worthy descendants of the signers of the 
Declaration of Independence; so down through the ages shall the chil- 
dren of the republic sing how well \(>u maintained the constitution, 
preserved the union of states established by our fathers, kept the flag 
unsullied and giving the nation a new birth of freedom. 

"The white, the symbol of purity, is a remembrance of your purity 
of purpose, not for personal gain or mere idle pastime, but to preserve 
our nation as one, that the shackles should be dropped from four mil- 
lion men, women and children; that no longer should be heard the 
blood-hounds upon the footsteps of some poor human Ix^ing seeking for 
freedom, and that no longer should husband be sold from wife, mother 
from her children, but freedom should be for everyone. 

"The blue, the symbol of truth and fidelity, is a remembrance of 
this love vou have for our countrv, and when vou followed our loved 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 235 

flag, tlirougli all those long weary marches Ihrough winters' snows and 
springtime slush and mud, thn)ugh cities and towns, over prairies and 
on to the field of Iiattle, where the furrows of the old field were as 
ravines filled with blotid, and where you left so many of your comrades 
pierced with bullets, torn with shell, their life ebbing away among the 
withered leaves, then did vou, with features stern and nerves of steel, 
resolve that not a star by trait(_)rous hands should be removed from that 
field of blue. 

"But the gallant deeds of the thousands in the forepart of the bat- 
tle were eclijised only by the heroic fortitude of the i)risoners in 'Dixie,' 
in the presence of untold torture, compared to which the whistle 
of the bullet and the screaming of the shell was as the sweetest music. 
There is no blacker page in the world's history than that on which is 
recorded the cruelties practiced upon tlie Union prisoners of war in 
Libby, Belle Isle, Salisbury and far-away Tyler, Texas; in Anderson- 
ville. five times enlarged, ten times intensified, thirty thousand prison- 
ers on eighteen acres of ground, without shelter, but within sight of 
timber; without water, yet within sight of pure, bright sparkling water; 
without food, except each day one-half pint of corn meal, ground cob 
and all ; no fire in winter to protect against the cold winds and rains ; 
no shelter from the hot blistering sun of the southern summer. SufYer- 
ing, starving semblances of humanity, yielding your libert}' by refusing 
to renounce your allegiance to the flag and country you loved so w'ell. 
Grander deeds than these ha\e no man done. 

"The stars upon the field of blue are a remembrance that the Creator 
of all things has blessed your efforts, and not a star was lost, and the 
cries of the afiflicted through all the long weary years have been heard, 
for He said, 'The right shall pre\-ail ;' and through your trials and suf- 



230 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

ferings you have bequeathed to your country the legacy of Uberty and 
union, insuring to your cliildren the blessings of free institutions, 
under which they enjoy greater prosperity, a larger liberty, a 
higher civilization and a purer Christianity than was ever before en- 
joyed by a people. 

"The yellow, einblen: of constancy, is a remembrance that you 
were constant and true to all duties. As you so proudly marched away 
under the flying flags, keeping step to the wild, grand music of war, 
you followed our flag in sunsliine and storm, victory or defeat, with 
as much confidence as did the children of Israel who followed the pil- 
lar of cloud by dav and of fire l)y night. You laid your lives, your 
honors, your fortunes, upon the altar of liberty and union, that a 'gov- 
ernment of the people and l)y the people should not perish from the 
earth.' 

"The eagle, a remembrance of the liljerty you gained 'with malice 
toward none and charity for all." 

"The cord, a remembrance of the manv ties that bind this united 
country together, and may the cords of loyal, enthusiastic sentiment 
grow stronger and stronger while we are permitted to live, and when 
the last roll is called may we be gathered in that great camp where the 
bugle sounds neither 'reveille' nor 'lights out.' 

"And from the stars and stripes we recall the story of liberty and 
union as exemplified in the lives of Washington. Lincoln. Grant, and 
the patriotic sons of the republic, who l)y their valor and suffering ren- 
dered the fame of this trio imperishable, and we look upon the Ameri- 
can flag by 'angels' hands to valor given.' with as much reverence as did 
the Israelites look upon the Ark of the Covenant. 

"This flag, the emblem of this grand nation, is a symbol of the 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 237 

n()I)lest strength and purest love; its every wave and fold speaks to us 
with more thrilling words than orator ever uttered. It recalls to mem- 
ory when Lincoln bore our country's burden, and Grant led the army 
to victory, and to a more perfect union, which is to-day the wonder and 
admiration of the world. This, the nation's standard, as it floats to-day, 
reminds us that we are free, subjects of no king but Him who rules the 
universe. 

"Mr. \^'atson, to you as the rqiresentative of the veterans, 1 have 
tried to express the lo\'e and esteem in which we hold the soldiers of the 
republic. Words are a poor medium and are soon forgotten, but as 
you and your comrades look upon the flag, may each color bring to 
your memory our gratitude and lo\-e for your protection. I now have 
the honor to present to you this flag." 

JACOB SHOLLY. 

Jacob Sholly, who was well known and highly esteemed for his 
sterling integrity and honor and was long classed among the represent- 
ative citizens of Monroe county, passed away June 6, 1901. He was 
born in Germantown. Ohio, May 24, 183 1, and was a son of Joseph 
Sholly, a native of Pennsylvania. The father was a shoemaker by 
trade, following that jiursuit in order to provide for his family. When 
the son Jacob was Init fourteen years of age both the father and mother 
were stricken with tyijhoid fever and died within two weeks of each 
other. Six children survived them, of whom the subject of this re- 
view was the second in order of birth, tlis earl}- life was marked by 
no event of special imi)ortance aside from his parents' death, when he 
was thrown upon his own resources, \\'hen a young man he took up 



23S BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

the painter's trade, whicli he followed throughout his entire life, ajid 
his success was, no doubt, due in a large measure to his faithful ad- 
herence to the work in which as a young tradesman he embarked. 
After leaving his home in Ohio he went to Indiana, where he met and 
married Miss Martha Jane Smith, the wedding taking place in 1S52. 
The lady was a daughter of Peter and Ruth Smith. Her mother died 
during the infancy of the daughter and the father's death occurred in 
185 1. In the family were nine children, four of whom are still living, 
and Mrs. Sholly was the fourth in order of birth. 

The young couple began their domestic life in Indiana, where 
they remained until 1856, when they removed to Kirksville, Missouri, 
which was their place of residence for five years. Early in the year 
1 86 1 Mr. and Mrs. Sholly removed to Monroe county, Iowa, becoming 
early residents of Albia, which was then a mere hamlet, containing a 
few log houses. Here he began work at the painter's trade, which he 
followed through a long ])eriod. and the excellence of his work se- 
cured him a good patronage. He always lived faithfully up to the 
terms of a contract and because of his desire to please his patrons and 
his straightforward dealings he was accorded a constantly growing 
trade. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Sholly were born five children : William F., 
Marion, George, John and Edward, but the only one now living is 
William F.. the eldest. They also had an adopted daughter, Blanche 
Ijams, who is now married and resides in Albia. while a granddaughter, 
Gertrude Sholly, is now living with her grandmother, Mrs. Martha J. 
Sholly. 

Fraternally Mr. Sholly was connected with the Odd Fellows so- 
ciety for a number of years and enjoyed the confidence and esteem of 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 239 

his bretliren of the order. He held niemliership with tlie Cliristian 
church and in his life exemphfied iiis behef, doing everything in his 
power to promote the growth and extend the influence of the church, 
while with his fellow men he was e\'er honest and considerate. He 
passed away on the 6th of June, 1901, at the age of seventy years, leav- 
ing behind the priceless heritage of an untarnished name. Mrs. Sholly 
still survives her husband and makes her home in Albia, where she 
has many friends. She, too, is a member of the Christian church and 
has lived in harmonv with its teachings. 



ALEXANDER BAIN. 

Nature certainl\- intended that man shoukl rest in his declining 
years. His whole history proves this. In youth he is strong, vigorous 
and ambitious, and in mature years he has learned to so direct his la- 
bors that as a result of his sound judgment, experience and industry, 
he may acquire a good competence. As the evening of life draws on, 
his physical powers are somewhat diminished and it is just that the 
long years of business acti\'ity should be followed by a period in which 
to enjoy the fruits of his former toil. This has been vouchsafed to 
Mr. Bain, who is now living retired in Albia, but for many years car- 
ried on agricultural pursuits in Monroe county. 

A native of North Carolina, his birth occurred on the 26th of Jan- 
uary, 1820. His parents were Robert and Mary (Irwin) Bain, and 
the fomier was a native of Scotland, while the mother was of Dutch 
e.xtraction. Tn early life Robert Bain came to the United States and 
for some time resided in North Carolina, but the latter part of 1820 
witnessed his emigration to what was then the wild west — Jefferson 



240 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

county. Indiana, wliere lie spent liis remaining days. ilie family ex- 
perienced all the hardships and trials of pioneer life there, hut as the 
years passed the fruits of the father's lalxjr brought to them a comfort- 
able living. In addition to agricultural pursuits he engaged in work as 
a teamster. His study of the political questions led him at first to give 
his supi)ort to the Jacksonian Democracy, and his religious faith was 
that of the Presbyterian church. His life was upright and honorable 
and to his children he furnished an example well worthy of emulation. 
He passed away .\pril 12. 1845. at his home in Jefferson county. In- 
diana, and his wife died in the same locality on the 15th of July. 1849. 
Their children were : Samuel. \\'illiam. Robert. James. Sarah. John. 
Jane. Mar}-. Margaret. Alexander. Thomas. Xancy, and one daughter 
that died in infancy, and all are now deceased with the exception of 
Alexander and his sister Margaret. The parents were laid to rest in 
the cemetery of the United Brethren church in Jeflferson county. In- 
diana. 

Before he had reached his first birthday Alexander Bain was taken 
by his parents to Jefiferson county and resided there continuously until 
October, 1855. when he came to Monroe county, Iowa, where he has 
since lived. His educational pri\'ileges were limited because of the 
primitive character of the frontier schools. Tliroughout his entire 
life he has carried on farming and though he has met with some difficul- 
ties and obstacles in his path he has steadily persevered and has event- 
ually become a well-to-do citizen. In early life he suffered heavy losses, 
but with strong resolution and determined purpose he started again, 
working hard and living economically and in six years had made fifty- 
five hundred dollars. 

In Lakewood county. Indiana, in 1840. Mr. Bain was united in 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 241 

marriage to Miss Mary Gulic, a daughter of William Gulic, a miller 
of that part of the country. Six children were born to our subject and 
his wife while they were residents of the Hoosier state, these being: 
James, who was bom in 1841 ; Henry and Sarah, both deceased; Ellen, 
Hattie, and Annie. After the arrival of the family in this state other 
children were added to the household, including Robbie and Mary 
Lxjuisa. the latter now deceased. 

Mr. Bain secured a tract of land in Mantua township. Monroe 
county, and with characteristic energy began its cultivation, making 
the fields so productive that he aniuially gathered good harvests and 
thus materially increased his income. At length, on account of the 
ill health of his wife, he removed to Albia, where he lived for seven 
vears, and in 1898 he was called upon to mourn the loss of his loved 
companion, with whom he had traveled life's journey for fifty-eight 
vears. She was called to her final rest on the 12th of October of that 
year, at the age of eighty-two years, having been born in 1816. Mr. 
Bain sold his farm to his son-in-law. \\\ C. Scorck, just prior to his 
wife's death, and since that time he has lived a retired life. Mrs. Bain 
was a devoted member of the Presbyterian church, to which Mr. Bain 
also belongs, having joined the organization when eighteen years of 
age. For a long period he served as an elder in the church, but later 
resigned. His interest in the church, however, and in the advancemeni 
of the cause of Christianity has never abated, and his intluence has 
ever been cast on the side of right and truth. He has now reached the 
age of eighty-three years, and his has been a career in which industry, 
straightforward dealing, loyalty in citizenship and kindliness to his 
fellow men have been the salient characteristics. 



242 BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

CLEXDENNEN BOGGS. 

Cleiuiennen Boggs is now living a retired life in All)ia. He has 
passed the seventy-sixth milestone on life's journey, and his has been 
an upright and honorable career, worthy of the respect and veneration 
which are shown him. He was born in Braxton county. West Vir- 
ginia, June i8, 1826, his parents being L. M. and Nancy Boggs, who 
were also natives of West Virginia. The father followed farming 
throughout his entire life, thus providing for his family. With his 
wife and children he started for the west in the year 1837 and took up 
his abode in Lee county, Iowa, nine years before the admission of tlie 
state into the Union. He secured a tract of hind upon which he carried 
on agricultural pursuits, and in 1843, when the district now comprised 
within Monroe county was ojiened for settlement by the white man, he 
came with his family to this portion of the state and was among the 
honored pioneers who laid broad and deep the foundation for the pres- 
ent development and progress of the county. He gave his political sup- 
port to the Whig party in early life and when tlie Republican party was 
organized he j.^ined its ranks. In the early fifties he was called upon 
to mourn the loss of his wife, who died in the faith of the Methodist 
church, of which she was a devout and earnest member, Mr, Boggs 
long survived her, reaching the advanced age of ninety-three years, his 
deatli occurring in 1899. Their children were Clcndcnncn : Hender- 
son; Mathan; Mary Jane, deceased ; Louisa; Smith: George M., who 
has also passed away; Martha .Ann; Malis.sa; and Martin. 

Ciendennen Boggs spent the first thirteen years of his life in the 
state of his nativity and then became a resident of Iowa, wdiere he has 
lived continuously since, and the history of the state from early pioneer 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 243 

times is familiar to him. His educational privileges were limited, Init 
he made the most of his opportunities and as the years have passed he 
has prospered, gaining' a comfortable competence as the result of his 
earnest and indefatigable labor. When twenty-three years of age he 
was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Ramsey, a daughter of John 
Ramsey, their wedding being celebrated in Monroe county, where he 
had located about three years previous. Previous to his marriage he 
had entered one hundred and twenty acres of land from the govern- 
ment, for which he paid the price of one dollar and a quarter per acre. 
It was as it came from the hands of nature, covered with the native 
prairie grasses, not a furrow having been turned or an improvement 
made thereon, but he at once began to break the prairie and in course of 
time the fields were planted and good harvests followed. Through his 
energetic efforts and the assistance of his estimable wife he prospered 
as the years passed b_\' and throughout his active business career con- 
tinued to engage in farming, but he e\entually put aside business cares, 
and disposing of his land removed to Albia. He there purchased prop 
erty and has since made his home in this place. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Boggs have been born the following children: 
Henry Clay; William V... deceased; and Newton E. For almost fifty- 
seven years the subject of this review has resided in Monroe county 
and for more than a half ccntur_\' he and his wife have traveled life's 
journey together. While there ha\e been no exciting chapters in his 
career, his life history pro\es how valuable are enterprise and industry 
in the active affairs of life, for it has been along these lines that Mr. 
Boggs has acquired the conifnrtable competence that now enables him 
to live retired in the enjoyment ni the fruits of his former toil. 



2U BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

LINCOLN HARBOLD. 

Development and progress, centralization and specialization — these 
terms are characteristic of the present age of industrial activity ; and 
nowhere are these facts more patently sliown than in the history of the 
great stock-raising and meat business, which reaches its highest per- 
fection in the L'nited States and under the energy and genius of the 
American producer. It is only within the past few years that the rais- 
ing of large c]uantities of cattle was possible or profitable; but with 
the growth of transportation facilities and the expanding of the pack- 
ing and preserving industry, the stock business has been rexolutionized 
and is now one of the surest and most profital)le pursuits ; immense 
herds ma\- be fattened and hurried off to distant markets for packing 
with absolute certaintv of returns, and with none of the anxieties or de- 
lays connected with the old local markets and Uxral slaughter houses. 
With these facts before us, we can better appreciate the foremost posi- 
tion which Lincoln Harlxild occupies among the business men of Ap- 
panoose county, for although a comparatively young man. he is reck- 
oned as one of the leaders of Iowa's many stock dealers. 

Samuel L. and Mary E. (Hudson) Harbold were the parents of 
our subject; the furmcr was a native of the old Bluegrass state and 
was born near the town of Paris. These worthy people first met in 
Appanoose county and were there married and spent the remainder of 
their lives. Samuel was considered one of the prominent and influen- 
tial farmers of southern Iowa and his successful life was certainly an 
inspiration to his young son, and the memory of his name and work was 
not by any means the least inheritance which he left behind at his 
death. His life was ended on Se])tember lo, 1895, and his wife died 
in 1875, when the boy, Lincoln, was but tweh'e years t)ld. 



BIOGRAPHICAL A\D GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 24o 

Lincoln Ilarhnld is ;i native of Ap])anoose ccnmty and was l)orn 
on his father's farm. August 7, 1863; he was reared under t'lie sturdy 
discipline of the home farm and early acquired an insight into the prac- 
tical working of the business to which he was to later give his atten- 
tion and utmost efforts. .\s he grew older and the possibilities of the 
business became more ap])arent. he increased his facilities initil he is at 
present the owner of six hundred and sixty acres of fine land near 
Piano, and two hundred and eighty acres near Truro, Iowa, which he 
devotes to the grazing of the thousands of cattle handled by him e\-ery 
year, and he buys large quantities of grain for their consumption. Mr. 
Harbold first began the feeding and handling of stock on a large scale 
in 1896, and now his broad acres are the temporary feeding grounds 
for manv cattle, which, as soon as they have reached the required weight 
and the market justifies it, are shipped ofT to the packing centers, and 
thus the business goes on, with its various fluctuations, but continually 
bringing increased returns to its capable manager and owner. He 
feeds annually three thousand cattle and five thousand hogs, which con- 
sume one hundred and fifty thousand bushels of corn. 

In 1887 Mr. Harbold was married to Caroline Kirkland, the 
daughter of Benson and Mary (Doran) Kirkland. Her father was 
a native of West Virginia and her mother was born in Maryland; they 
were married in West \'irginia and in 1869 came to Iowa and located 
on a place two miles west of Mr. Harbold's home: they are still living 
and reside on the old Kirkland farm in Johns township. Mr. and 
Mrs. Harbold became the jjarents of three children, only one of whom 
is now living, (iracc Harbold. .\fter tlieir marriage thc_\- began house- 
keeping on the farm which they now reside and to-day they own the 
finest residence in .\pi)an(3ose county, comfortable and commodious, and 



246 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

fitted with all the conveniences which make life in the country ideal. 
All these possessions which go to make life happier are but the results 
of the well deserved success of Mr. Harbold. who has won all by care- 
fully following the business instincts implanted in him in his youth and 
by the application of the cardinal \irtues which are given to every man. 
In his fraternal relations he is a member of the Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows in Piano. 



SAMUEL ELDER. 



In almost all American communities there may be found quiet, re- 
tiring men, who never ask for public office or appear prominent in pub- 
lic affairs, yet who, nevertheless, e.xert a wide-felt influence in the coni- 
munitv in which tliey live and hcli) to construct the proi^er foundation 
upon which the social and ixjlitical world is built. Such a man is 
Samuel Elder, who throughout his entire life has been an honored and 
respected citizen of Monroe county. He was born on the farm on 
which he still resides, ten miles northeast of Albia; four miles north of 
Avery and three miles from Chisholm, the latter being his postoffice 
address, and the date of his l)irth was January 26, 1853. His paternal 
grandfather, John Elder, came to this country from Ireland when 
twenty years of age, and his death occurred in Ohio, while on the 
maternal side our subject is descended from old Pennsylvania ancestry. 
He is a son of Mattiiew and Jane (Lowery) Elder, the former of whom 
was born in Coshocton county, Ohio. In 1850 Matthew Elder came 
to Iowa, locating on our subject's present homestead, where he passed 
away in death at the age of sixty-eight years and one month. His 
wife, who was born near Pittsburg, Penns}lvania, died at the home of 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 247 

a son in Albia, when she had passed the age of eighty-one years. Ten 
children were the result of this union, nine of whom are still living, and 
the deceased daughter left a family of five children. 

Samuel Elder received his early education in the schools of Mon- 
roe county, while later he attended the educational institutions of Eddy- 
ville, Iowa, and Monmouth, Illinois. After his marriage he located in 
Ringgold county, Iowa, where he farmed on rented land for two years, 
after which he purchased and removed to a place in Wayne county, this 
state. After a residence there of one year he sold his possessions and 
purchased the three hundred acres which constitute his present valuable 
homestead. The farm is located in Pleasant township, and at the time 
of purchase was only partially improved, but he has since placed the 
entire tract under cultivation, and it is now one of the valuable farms 
of the county. He devotes his attention to general farming and stock- 
raising, and in both lines of industry his efforts are being rewarded 
with a high and well merited degree of success. 

The marriage of Mr. Elder was celeljrated on the 14th of March, 
1878, when Miss Anna Chisholm liecame his wife. She was born in 
Columbiana county, Ohio, and is a member of an old and prominent 
family of Monroe county, Iowa, the village of Chisholm, located 
therein, having been named in honor of her father. She is a daughter 
of William and Mary (McQueen) Chisholm. The father, also of Col- 
umbiana county, Ohio, came to Iowa in i860, and his death occurred in 
this state at the age of sixty years. His mother, Janet, reached the re- 
markable age of one hundred and one years, and she was from Scot- 
land. The mother of Mrs. Elder, who was born in Columbiana county, 
Ohio, also spent her last daj's in this locality, passing away in death 
at the age of sixty years. By her marriage Mrs. Elder has become the 



2i8 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

mother of tliree cliildren. the two eldest of whom. Charles M. and 
Marv E.. are attending Penn College of Oskaloosa, Iowa, and the 
youngest, Janet, is at home. In political matters Mr. \i\(\ev has been 
a life-long Republican, his first \()te having been cast for R. B. Hayes 
in his race for the presidenc}', and in 1899 he was elected to the position 
of supervisor and he was made chairman of the Ixiard. The family 
are members of the I'nited Presln-terian cluu-ch, and Mr. Elder as- 
sisted materially in the erection of the house of worship of that denom- 
ination in this locality. 

THOMAS FOSTER. 

For a half-century Thomas Foster was a resident of Appanoose 
county and while he did not figure prominently in political or public 
affairs, he was nevertheless numbered among the valued citizens because 
of his interest in everything pertaining to the public good, and because 
in private life he was a man worthy of respect and honor. He was 
born in Edgar county, Illinois, on the 14th of July, 1828, and passed 
away at his home near Moulton, Iowa, on the 14th of August, 1901. 

His parents were John and Elizabeth Eve (Rhoades) Foster, in 
whose family were thirteen children: Thomas, Rachel, Arthur, An- 
drew, Hannah, Rebecca, Catherine, Mary. John, Evaline, Angeline, 
Jackson and Washington. Of this family Thomas Foster was the 
eldest and in consequence of this the burdens which devolved upon him 
in early years were heavy. He was reared to farm life and in the 
common schools pursued his education. He remained under the par- 
ental roof until he was twenty-five years of age, and at that time be- 
came the manager of the family affairs, remaining in charge for sev- 




THOMAS FOSTER. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 251 

era! years, during which time lie was the main support of his mother 
and younger brothers and sisters. He bravely performed the duties 
which devolved upon him and fulfilled his task with conscientiousness 
and energy, such as characterized his entire career. On leaving Illinois 
the family had removed to Missouri, thence to Lee county, Iowa, and in 
185 1 had come to Appanoose county, where Thomas Foster made his 
home until called to his final rest. Throughout the years of his man- 
hood he carried on agricultural pursuits, his labors being interrupted 
only by his service in the Civil war. On the 8th of July, 1862, feeling 
that his first duty was to his country in her hour of peril, he offered his 
services to the government, enlisting as a member of Company D, Sixth 
Iowa Infantry, in which command he served for four years and one 
month, never faltering in his loyalty or in the discharge of any task as- 
signed to him, although he was often in tlie thickest of the fight and 
became familiar with all the hardships of war. 

In 1864, while home upon a furlough, Mr. Foster was married, 
the lady of his choice being Miss Sabra A. Robinson, a daughter of 
Joel and Jane (Daily) Robinson. The lady was born in Fountain 
county, Indiana, September 25, 1836. Her parents were southern 
people who remo\-ed from North Carolina to Tennessee, thence to In- 
diana, whence they came to Appanoose county, Iowa, in 1851, here 
spending their remaining days. j\fter the close of the war Mr. Foster 
resumed farming and was thereafter actively engaged in the work of 
tilling the soil. He placed the land under a very high state of cultiva- 
tion and made many e.xcellent and modern improvements upon his 
place, which are today evidences of his life of thrift and industry. In 
connection with the cultivation of the fields he also engaged in stock- 
raising and found that a profitable source of income. At his death he 



252 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

left a fair estate, and to his widow, who survives him, he left a com- 
fortable competence for the rest of her life. He was an industrious 
and energetic man, in whose career there were few idle moments. He 
was fair-minded, just and honest, and was uniformly respected by a 
wide circle of acquaintances. While not a member of any religious 
organization, he was a man of high moral worth and rectitude of charac- 
ter, and well may it be said of him that he was a loyal and enterprising 
citizen and a faithful friend and kind husband. He held membership 
in the Grand Army of the Republic and was highly esteemed by his 
old comrades of the blue. Mrs. Foster is a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal church, and is well known in the county where she has re- 
sided for more than a half centurv. 



\VILLI.\M BERXARD. 

\\'hen the hey-day of life has been spent and old age comes on, it 
is a blessed privilege to be able to look back upon a life of fruitful effort 
and to know that not all tiie opportunities thrown in one's way have 
been passed by; and certainly in a country of opportunity, this great 
United States, no man can offer any excuse for not enjoying this privi- 
lege, and it is a pleasure to here record the life of one who has passed 
a successful career and now reaps the contentment coming to the re- 
tired farmer. 

Malechia Bernard, who was born in Maryland, came from there to 
Seneca county, Ohio, when that state was still young, and he remained 
there till his death. He married Sarah Rayner, a native of Maryland, 
and she died in Michigan. These were the parents of the subject of 
this sketch and they had nine children in all. six sons and three daugh- 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 253 

ters : Jolin, deceased: Susan, deceased; Edwin, deceased; Aaron; 
\\'illiam : (ieorge; W'asliington. deceased ; Ellen, deceased ; and Mary. 
Malechia Bernard was a member oi the old Whig party and his reli- 
gious belief was that of the Methodist Protestant church. 

William Bernard is able to claim the beautiful old state of Mary- 
land for his birthplace, being born there in Frederick county, December 
17, 1823, and he was reared and educated in that place. At the age of 
seventeen he came to Ohio, where he remained for eleven years. His 
arrival in Monroe county is dated in 1855. and he first located in Pleas- 
ant township, but afterward lx>ught a farm in Jackson townshii), wiiich 
he still owns, although he is now retired from active farming. He be- 
longs to the Republican party and for a number of years was a suc- 
cessful attornew but be has ne\'er aspired to any of the honors that 
come \vith political office. His has been a well-rounded and full life, 
and he is a representative and worth}- citizen of the county. 

While residing in Seneca county. Ohio. ■Mr. Bernard was married 
to Elizabeth Egbert, who was a native of that county. Eight children 
now make up the happy family, seven sons and one daughter, as fol- 
lows : Charles \\'., George M., Warren, Rolla. Jesse, Alta, William, 
Jr., and one wbo died in infancy. Mrs. Bernard died December 31, 
1890, and on October 15. 1902. ]\Ir. Bernard married Miss Sarah 
Albert, who is a native of Indiana. 



AMOS F. INHLLEK. 

One of the most progressixe and enteri)rising business men of 
Monroe county is .\mos F. Miller, who is connected with one of the 
largest cheese factories in the county. By his progressive spirit and 



254 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

unflagging energ>- he has contributed in a large measure to the business 
activity of Bkiff Creek townsliii). antl is regarded as a man of force and 
wortli in tlie Inisiness world. Mr. Miller was born in Ripley county. 
Indiana, on the 28th of January. 1855, and is a son of Henry and Mary 
R. (Hiteman) Miller. The father, who was of German origin, was a 
native of France, but when a mere 1)oy he left his jiome across the sea 
and came to the United States. The year 1858 witnessed his arrival 
in the Hawkeye state, and a location was made near the vicinity of Hite- 
man in Monroe county, that \illage having been named in honor of an 
uncle of our subject. Both Mr. and Mrs. Miller died in Pottawattomie 
county, Iowa, the former at the age of seventy-nine years and the latter 
w'hen fifty-nine years of age. They became the parents of twelve chil- 
dren, ten of whom are still living. 

Amos F. Miller was early inured to the lalx)rs of the farm, and he 
continued to reside on the old home farm until the nth of March, 1881, 
when he was married to Martha E. Williams. She was born in Kan- 
sas, and by her marriage has become the mother of six children, one of 
whom died in infancy, and those living are: Amy, who became the 
wife of J. C. Moore; and Henry E., Qiarles M., Anna L., and Mildred 
E., at home. All are receiving excellent educational privileges, and 
they will no doubt prove an honor to the honored family name. After 
his marriage Mr. Miller located on a farm near Avery, Monroe county, 
Iowa, where he conducted a cheese factory for one year, he having 
learned that business prinr to his marriage. Removing thence to 
Lynnville, Iowa, he resumed the same occupation, and after residing 
there for a time located .southeast of Albia. Three years later he 
came to his present location, four miles northwest of that city, where 
he is now serving as the manager, treasurer and salesman of one of 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 255 

the largest clieese factories in tlie county. This concern lias a capacity 
of seven thousand jiounds of milk daily, and furnishes employment to 
many men. The plant is now equipped with modern machinery and all 
accessories for facilitating" the work and rendering the product of value 
on the market hy reason of its excellent quality. 

Mr. Miller is also the owner of a \aluahle farm, and is one of the 
substantial business men of Monroe county. He was reared in the faith 
of the Republican jiarty and was one of its supporters until the Prohibi-. 
tion agitation in Iowa, when he supported Grover Clevehuul in his first 
race for the presidenc)-, and continued to uphold Democratic principles 
until the nomination of William J. Bryan. Since that time he has exer- 
cised his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the 
Rejjublican party. I""or one term he scr\ed as assessor of his township, 
for many years was a member of the school board, and is now school 
secretar}' and township trustee, being incumbent of the latter position 
by appointment. The family attend the services of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church. 



JAMES W. CLAVER. 

Tlie name of James \\'. Claver is inseparably interwoven with the 
history of Monroe count}-. He is one of its honored pioneers and most 
esteemed and worllu' farmers. His birth, liowever. occurred in the 
old Hoosier state, in Putnam county, where he first opened his eyes to 
the light of day on the 28th of August. 1845. When nine years of age, 
in 1854, he accompanied his parents on their removal to Iowa, the fam- 
ily locating where our subject now resides, and with the exception of his 
term of one year in charge of the county farm this locality has since 



256 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

continued to be his liome. When tlie Civil war was inaugurated for 
the preservation of tlie Union, Mr. Claver nobly offered his services to 
his native country, enlisting in June, 1863, in Company C, Eighth Iowa 
Cavalry, under Colonel J. B. Dorr. His military record was indeed 
an honorable one and when the war had closed and the country no 
longer needed his services he was mustered out at Clinton, Iowa. Re- 
turning thence to his home, he remained under the paternal roof until 
his twenty-second year, when he was married to Eliza Hilliard, a na- 
tive of Van Buren county, Iowa. They became the parents of five 
children, three of whom still survive: Ervin E., Nellie and Bert F., 
all of whom are married, and Ervin E. and Xellie have each two chil- 
dren. The first born in this family died at the age of two years, and 
another passed away in infancy. The wife and mother also passed into 
eternal rest, and in 1888 Mr. Claver was united in marriage to Loretta 
Bucher, by whom he has one son, Frank W. 

After his first marriage Mr. Claver settled down to farm life on 
the old homestead, which is located about seven miles north of Albia, 
in Blufif Creek township, and the many improvements here inaugurated 
by the father have been carried out by the son, and it is now one of 
the valuable homesteads of the locality. The fellow townsmen of our 
subject, who have recognized his worth and ability, have called him to 
many public offices, and among the many local positions which he has 
held may be mentioned that of township trustee, while for many years 
he was also a member of the school board. He has, since casting his 
first vote, continued to uphold the principles of the old Republican 
party. The family attend the services of the Methodist Episcopal 
church. As the years have passed by Mr. Claver has acquired a hand- 
some competence. He possesses the sterling ([ualities of the sturdy 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 257 

pioneers who have bravely faced tlie trials and hardships of life on the 
plains in order to make homes for their families, and thus aided in lay- 
ing the foundation for the present prosperity and progress of this por- 
tion of the state. 



IRA NOBLE. 

The fame of Iowa as the home of thoroughbred stock has extended 
over the civilized world. The last census gives her precedence in the 
live-stock industry over all the states of the American Union, and her 
output is as fine in quality as it is large numerically. The famous 
breeding counties of old England, which at one time supplied this and 
all other countries witli the best samjiles of horses, cattle and sheep, no 
longer e.xercise the pre-eminence once enjoyed. Nor do the stock 
centers in the celelirated bluegrass sections of Kentucky, middle Tennes- 
see and Ohio now enjoy the supremacy which a few decades ago was 
allowed them without question. The fine-stock banner, like the center 
of population and the "Star of Empire," has been moving westward 
anfl at length seems to float ])ermanentl\' over the comparati\'ely new 
state, whose eastern border is washed by the upper ]\Iississii)i)i. It is 
only necessary to attend one of the international live-stock exhibitions 
given at Chicago every Decemlicr to be convinced that Iowa is able to 
hold her own in compctitii)n with the whole world in this important 
department of national development. All over the state may be found 
farms devoted to the scientific Ijreeding and feeding of stock, where the 
general methods embody all the latest im])rovements and the concrete 
results of the highest skill. One of these stock farms, which is a model 
of its kind, is situated in Monroe count\', near All)ia, and the foregoing 



258 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

prefatory remarks are intciidcd as an introductinn to its owner. It is 
called the Maple Row stock farm, and has l>een owned and operated 
about seventeen years by Mr. Ira Noble, a nieml)er of a family long 
influential in the affairs of Monroe county. The lover of fine horses 
who visits this place will find much to delight the eye in the shape of 
fine trotters of the best strains and trained by a thorough master in 
the art of breeding. He will be shown stallions with pedigrees as long 
as those of any English king, who have to their credit some remarkable 
achievements on the track. (General Wilkes. Jr.. has a record of 2:24 
1-2, and is the sire of one colt with a record of 2:08^4 to his credit, 
twelve others w-ith records l>etter than 2 :20 and twenty-four in the 
2 130 list. Red Maple was sired by Red Baron and is another high- 
born member ()f this equine aristocracy, having to his credit the hardest 
and longest race in the world, won at Independence after twelve heats. 
Much space could be devoted to description of other I)eauties on this 
fine fanu and to the place itself, but first something nuist be said of 
the proprietor and the famih- to which he belongs. 

Samuel Xoble. the emigrant founder, came from Ireland during 
the latter ])art of the eighteenth century and settled in Huntington 
county. I'ennsvlvania. His so!i John, lK)rn in 1796. long afterward 
removed to Iowa, where he died in 1871. at Fairfield. He married 
Elizabeth, daughter of .Abram Crane, of (lerman lineage, by whom he 
had ten children, all sons but one. and nine of these are still living. 
Samuel Noble, one of the nine boys, was born in Huntington county, 
Pennsylvania, November 30, 18 19. and came to Iowa in 1845, just a 
year ])re\ious to the state's admission into the Union. He first located 
at Fairfield, Jefferson county, but in 1849 embarked in merchandising 
at Albia. and continued that business with success for sixteen vears. 



BIOGRAPHICAL A.YD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 259 

In 1865 he cliised out Iiis mercantile business and engaged in realty and 
loaning, which constituted his occupation for a number of years. Dur- 
ing this period he did much for the improvement of Albia, a notable 
instance being the erection of the fine business block on the northwest 
corner of the square, which is known l)y his name. By judicious invest- 
ments in real estate and general business ability he became a large 
propert}- holder, his possessions including several hundred acres of farm 
land near the city. .\s a stockholder and director in the Monroe County 
Bank he was for man\- vcars an influential figure in the financial circles 
of Albia and ranked without question as one of its leading citizens. In 
i860 he was elected judge of Monroe county on the Republican ticket 
and also served se\eral terms as a member of the city council. He has 
been an elder in the I^-esbytcrian church for forty years or more, and 
during that time also one of the most liberal contributors to and pro- 
moters of religious work of all kinds. In 1842 Judge Noble married 
Miss Sarah Matthews of Penns\l\ania, who died a few years later in 
her native state, and in 1849, ^.iter coming to Iowa, he contracted a sec- 
ond matrimonial union with Miss Mary J., daughter of Samuel Ship- 
ler, of Jefferson county. Mrs. Xoble died October 14. 1892, leaving 
two sons, Emmett E. and Ira, and a daughter, Mary, now the wife of 
Charles Tharp of Chicago. 

Ira Noble, second of the sons above mentioned, was born in .\ll)ia, 
Monroe county, Iowa, May 6, 1837, and was educated in the schools of 
his native place and in Burlington. His first business employment after 
leaving the schoolrcjoni was as clerk in the old Monroe County Bank, 
but he soon abandoned this for more energetic pursuits. From earliest 
childhcxxl he had develo])ed a fondness for horses, and was ne\-er so 
happv as when handling these animals. This disposition found a vent 



260 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

ill the estal)lisliment of a livery stable, which enterprise followed closely 
after his departure from the bank, and he was also connected for a time 
with a grocery store in Albia. The ruling passion, however, found full 
gratification in 1886. when Mr. Xoble abandoned every other kind of 
business to concentrate his attention upon stock-breeding. In the vear 
mentioned he took possession of Maple Row stock farm, consisting of 
nearly one hundred and sixty acres of land within a mile of Albia. 
Here he entered into the breeding of horses for the road and farm, and 
for a number of years kept jacks, but latterly he has practically droppetl 
all other features to make a specialty of trotters. He handles only the 
standard breeds, as a glance over his catalogues will show, and his place 
is visited by turfmen from far and near who are anxious to secure 
promising colls. Mr. Xoble enjovs a hi.gh reputation as a breeder and 
handler of trotting stock, and his name is familiar throughout the west 
at all places where turfmen meet for business or pleasure. From his 
neatly kept farm go forth e\ery year a dozen or more fine young ani- 
mals, the product of proud sires and dams, and many of Mr. Noble's 
output have made fine racing records. His reputation both as a breeder 
and conscientious dealer, added to the excellence of his stock, enables 
him to obtain high prices and to enjoy a deserved prosperity as the 
result of his enterprise. It is such men as he that have given to Iowa 
her place of proud pre-eminence in the live-stock industrv and brought 
her to the front as the home of tliDroughlireds of the highest and best 
quality. 

In 1879 ^I""- Noble was united in marriage with Miss Nellie A., 
daughter of Janies B. and Elizabeth (Irvin) Bell, the former of Penn- 
syhania and the latter of Indiana, and now residing on a farm in Kan- 
sas. Mrs. Noble, who is highly spoken of b\- those who knew her well 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. '201 

as a Christian wife ami inntlier, died a few years ago, at tlie eompar- 
ati\'elv earlv age of lliirty-nine. She left as a consolation to her bereaved 
iuisband three unusually bright children, whose names are Guy G., Iva 
J., and J. Thorpe, who in years to come promise to be worthy success- 
ors to their father in his nuble calling. 



ALEXANDER C. WATSON. 

Taking all things ec|ual, the soldier makes a better citizen than the 
civilian, for ujxjn the field of 1)attle he has learned wliat it means to 
stand by the country in the hour of peril, and the patriotism which he 
has manifested in the hour of strife remains with him through the 
years following and pro\-es one of the basic elements of his citizenship. 
Mr. Watson is among the number who, when the south attempted to 
overthrow the L'nifin, went forth in defense of the national government 
at Washington ami through the period of civil strife loyally defended 
the old flag and the cause it represented. Today he is regarded as one 
of the leading business men of Monroe county, where he is successfully 
engaged in general agricultural pursuits and stock-raising. 

A native of Mifflin county. Pennsylvania, Mr. Watson was born 
November ii, 1842. and comes of a family noted for military prowess 
and unwavering loyalty to the country in hours of danger. One of 
his ancestors served with General Braddock in the French and Indian 
war and was captured by Indians at Fort Pitt. Others of the name 
served in the cause of independence, and the grandfather of our sul>- 
ject was a soldier of the war of 1S12, bearing arms for his country at 
the early age of eleven years : he was wounded and drew a pension. 
One of tlie near relatives, an Alexander Watson, was a captain in the 



262 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

war of tlie Rebellion, and still others joined the Union army and fought 
with the boys in blue. Thomas Watson, the father of our subject, was 
born in county Antrim, Ireland, and was only a \ear and a half old 
when brought by his parents to America. After arriving at years of 
maturity he wedded Elizabeth D. Cameron and in the year 1855 he 
came with his family to Washington county, Iowa, and spent two years 
there when he moved to near Tyrone and operated a sawmill two years. 
In 1859 he came to Monroe county, Iowa, settling upon the farm where 
his son Alexander now resides, about four miles north of Albia. Op- 
pression in any form was always distasteful to him and awakened his 
strong opix)sition and it was therefore natural that he should oppose 
the cause of Rebellion and work for the suppression of slavery in the 
south. His home in Pennsylvania had been a station on the famous 
underground railroad and be did e\erything in his power to promulgate 
anti-slavery sentiments. .\t one tiiue he and his father were the only 
abolitionists who voted in llieir district. He pas.sed away at the age 
of seventy-six years, and his wife died at the lionie of her son Alexander 
when also seventy-six years of age. They were the parents of eight 
children, three of whom are yet living, and the sister Mary now makes 
her home with her brother .Alexander. She is a lady of nol)le Christian 
character and ])resitles with gracious hospitality over his home. 

Ale.xander C. Watson spent the tnrst thirteen years of his life in 
Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, where he was born on the 1 ith of No- 
vember, 184J. In 1855 he accompanied his parents on their westward 
emigration and here he assisted in the arduous task of developing a new 
farm, working in field and meadow, as does the average farmer boy. 
until he had attained the age of eighteen years. Then, on the 2d of 
October, 1861, in response to his country's call for aid to suppress the 



BIOGRAPHICAL A.\D GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 2G3 

rebellion in the smUli. lie enlisted fur service as a member of Company 
H. Tbirteentb Iowa Infantrv. becoming a member of Colonel Crocker's 
Regiment, with which he serxxd for three years and four months. He 
participated in the engagements at Shiloh and Corinth, and he started 
with Sherman on his famous march to the sea, but was wounded at 
Kenesaw Mountain, when he was sent home on a furlough. 

\\'hen the war was ended Mr. Watson received an honorable dis- 
charge at Marietta, (leorgia, and received his last pay at Louisville, 
Kentucky, after which lie returned to his father's home in Monroe 
county, Iowa. 

For two years following his military experience Mr. Watson at- 
tended scIkxjI in order to be prepared for the duties of a business career 
and has since been actively engaged in farming and stock raising, carry- 
ing on his affairs in a systematic manner, which shows that he is thor- 
oughly familiar with the best methods of farm work. He lived and 
worked upon the old homestead and was soon recognized as a leading 
business man and stock raiser. He is especially well known in tlie latter 
direction, having dealt quite extensively in pure standard bred stock, 
making a specialt_\- of Callowa_\- cattle and Shropshire sheep and Po- 
land China and Chester White hogs. He also owns some of the best 
l)red horses that have e\er been placed upon the market. He is con- 
tinually seeking to iiuprove the grade of stock raised and has thus done 
nuich for the community, f(.ir as the graile of stock is impro\'cd ])rices 
are accordingly advanced, ;ind the entire locality is benefited thereby. 
Since his return from the war he lias practically lived all of the time 
upon the farm which is yet his home. The first house was 16x24 feet 
and is still standing near the present commodious and modern resi- 
dence, which was built in 1869. There are good barns and outbuild- 



264 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

ings upon the place, and the air of neatness and tlirift prevails, indi- 
cating a careful and progressive owner. 

On March 2. 1882, Mr. Watson was united in marriage to Miss 
Mary Lane, a native of Muskingum county, Ohio, and a daughter of 
Dr. J. Morris and Susanna Lane; her father was an own cousin of 
the celebrated Jim Lane, who won his fame in "Bleeding Kansas." The 
Doctor died in Ohio, but his widow still survives and is living in Bloom- 
field, that state. Mrs. Watson was a most estimable lady, jx^ssessing 
a beautiful character, and her kindliness of heart and her cordial man- 
ner won her the love and esteem of all with whom she was brought 
in contact, but at the early age of twenty-five years she was called to 
her final rest, passing away on the 12th of December, 1884, her birth 
having (nrcurred on the 23d of May, 1859. She was prominent in 
church work, holding membership with the Presbyterian denomina- 
tion, and her Christian faith jiermeated her entire life and colored her 
relations with those with whom she came in contact. She died leaving 
two sons — Morris L. and Thomas E. — who are l)right, intelligent boys, 
now students in the Albia high school. 

Mr. Watson cast his first presidential ballot for .\braham Lincoln 
in 1864 while a member of the army. His father had been an old-line 
Whig, and upon the organization of the Republican party, to prevent 
the further extension of slavery, he joined its ranks and cast his vote 
for John C. Fremont. On attaining his majority the son followed in 
the father's political footsteps and has never seen a reason to change 
his allegiance to the party. He and the family are members of the 
Associate Reformed church and he is liberal in support of the cause 
of Christianity, is a friend of education and co-operates in all meas- 
ures for the general good, along lines of progress, reform and improve- 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 265 

ment. His has been an active and useful life, one which commends 
him to the confidence and esteem of all with whom he has been brought 
in contact. Perhaps no better evidence of his patriotic spirit can be 
given than by quoting the speech which he made in behalf of the \-et- 
erans of his township when they were presented by the ladies of the 
community with a fine flag: 

■' In behalf of the veterans of our township, and in profound re- 
spect for the purpose that prompts this gift, I accept from your fair 
hands this beautiful gift — the flag of our country — and would say that 
to those who have followed this starry banner through the storm and 
carnage of battle to victory and final peace, no other gift could so touch 
our hearts, so awaken the memories of the past, and kindle our emo- 
tions, none that could appeal with more eloquence to the future in all 
that we desire for the glory of our country and the happiness of those 
we hold most dear. 

" And in receiving this beautiful emblem of our country's glory, 
we are not forgetful of the brave boys who marched with us to the 
front at our country's call, who are not with us to take part in these 
pleasant ceremonies. We have heard tlieir dying cry as they fell in 
defense of this flag, and they are not forgotten. No ! There is a voice 
from their tomb that is sweeter than song, and a remembrance to those 
dead to which we turn ever from the charms of the living, whose frag- 
mentary history was recorded by the daily press as only a picket shot 
down, or they died in ho.spital, or they fell in battle, or they died in 
prison, where the common humanities of life were forgotten by a cruel 
and embittered foe, but their memory and honor are cherished by a 
grateful and patriotic people, and their blood adds a deeper luster to 



26G BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

this beautiful flag, and by tlieir sacrifice we enjoy tlie inestimal)le bles- 
sings of peace and a nation preserved. 

" And we cannot receive tliis beautiful flag without remembering 
our mothers — some l)eing with us to-da_v to bless us with their pres- 
ence — who with pathetic fortitude, with tearful eyes and breaking 
hearts, as they caressed and kissed us good-bye, asking God's speed 
with a mother's blessing, seeing only visions of wounds and death to 
their sons who marched to the country's defense. A thousand battles 
tell in part the story of their sorrows, and gentle time has in some 
measure assuaged their grief and solaced their hearts, and to the great 
numl)er the angel of mercy has come and touched them with his wings 
and whispered in their ears this message: "Come, ye blessed of my 
bather; inherit ihe kingdom prepared for yon." leaving us the precious 
memory of their gracious lives. May we not say the field of blue is 
the heaven of mother's love, in which is relit the stars of our unitv and 
glory ? 

" In accepting this beautiful tlag we express the desire that it may 
ever remain the defense of civil liberty, and that liy wise and whole- 
some laws to every worthy luember of our nation life shall be written 
in potential mood, that the stranger within our gates may have full 
protection, and that all children of men may turn with joy and hail it 
as the defence of all that is true and equitable in government. And we 
will teach our children to honor, defend and advance its glory. And 
now. dear hearts, in receiving this beautiful flag' from your fair hands. 
we renew again all the covenants of life. and. although in the progress 
of the vears we feel that the sword of its defense is ])assing to other 
and younger hands, we t'ecl assured that our gallant sons will stand 
for its defense .and will follow and defend it wherever dutv and honor 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 2G7 

calls, and will transmit it unsullied with added luster by their worthy 
lives and noble deeds. And when we have heard the last song, and the 
last audible word, and looked for the last time in your loving faces, 
and God shall have closed our vision, may this beautiful banner drape 
the casket as we are carried to our last encampment, as the emblem of 
the country we loved and a token of affection of those we hold most 
dear, and we express the first and last desire anil pra}-er of our hearts, 
mav God bless vou all." 



WILLIAM MERCER. 

The subject of this review is a self-made man who in his youth 
had few advantages, educational or otherwise, nor had he the assist- 
ance of influential friends, but he possessed strong resolution, and, de- 
siring to become a successful factor in business circles in Monroe 
county, he has labored earnestly and energetically until his efforts have 
been crowned with a gratifying degree of prosperity. He now lives 
in Bluff Creek township, where he owned a valuable property, com- 
prising four hundred and sixty-five acres of land, which, however, he 
has divided among his children, retaining for himself one hundred and 
sixty acres: 

Mr. Mercer was born in Kentucky, February 26, 1827, and comes 
of a family of Scotch origin. From the land of hills and heather his 
early ancestors went to England and thence to America. The great- 
grandfather was a soldier in the continental army during the Revo- 
lutionary war and valiantl_\- assisted in winning .\merican independ- 
ence. George and Mary (Martin) Mercer, the grandparents, were 
residents of Pennsvlvania, whence thev removed at an earh' dav to 



268 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

Kentucky, there residing until called to their final home, the former at 
the age of sixty-eight years, the latter at the age of seventy-four. 
Martin Mercer, the fatlier of our subject, was born in Kentucky and 
served his country in the war of 1812 under General Jackson, partici- 
pating in the "'tearless battle" of New Orleans. He was married to 
Anna L. Biggs, a daughter of .Andrew and Elizabeth (Christ) Biggs, 
w'ho were residents of Kentucky, but removed to Indiana, where both 
passed away at an advanced age, the former when he had attained four- 
score years, the latter at the age of seventy-eight. Mr. and Mrs. Martin 
Mercer also removed to Indiana, locating there in 1831. They became 
the parents of ten children, but only two are yet living, William and 
his brother, H. H. Mercer. The father died in Indiana at the age of 
seventy-three, and the mother's death occurred in the same place when 
she was seventy-two years of age. 

The early youth of William Mercer was a period of persistent and 
unremitting toil. His educational privileges were very meager, as he 
had opportunity to attend school for only al^out two months each year, 
and during that time he pursued his studies in a log building, sitting 
upon seats made of slabs, w'hich rested upon woo<len pins or legs fitted 
into a hole bor^d in the wall. His training at farm labor, however, 
was not meager, for from an early age he worked in the fields from 
early morning until evening, but, always ambitious for advancement, 
his persistence, energy and diligence at length won the victory over 
limited financial circumstances, and he stands to-day as one of the suc- 
cessful men of his county. 

On the 27th of March, 1856, Mr. Mercer married Miss Bcrnetta 
H. Sellers, a native of Indiana, and a daughter of Nathan and Mary 
(Yowell) Sellers. Her father was a son of James and Mary (Craw- 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 2G9 

ford) Sellers, and the former, a native of Kentuck)- and of Scotch 
descent, died in his native state, while the latter passed away in Indi- 
ana. Xathan Sellers was horn in Kentucky and when he had arrived 
at years of maturity wedded Mary, daughter of William and Margaret 
(Coppage) Yowell. Her father was of English lineage and lived in 
Kentucky. He died in an explosion of a steamer on which he was a 
passenger, and his wife died in Kentucky when more than ninety years 
of age. In 1854 Mr. and Mrs. Sellers came to Iowa and here spent 
their remaining days, the former dying in .Appanoose ctninty at the 
age of seventy-live, the latter at the age of eighty years in Monroe 
county. They had eight children, of whom five or yet living, including 
Mrs. Mercer, the estimable wife of our subject. To j\lr. and Mrs. 
Mercer have been liorn ten children, si.\ of whom are yet living: Henry, 
who is married and has two children ; William L., who is married and 
has three children; John P., who is married and has four children; 
Emma, at home; Ida, also with her father; and Inez, who married 
Dr. C. X. Hyatt and has one child. .\ daughter, Florence, died at the 
age of twenty-three years, and the others died in infancy. 

Since 1850 Mr. Mercer has been a resident of Monroe county, and 
great changes ha\e occurred in that period, for the wild land has been 
plowed and made to bloom and blossom as the rose. His own farm 
has undergone a complete transformation. He first purchased two 
hundred and sixty acres and his first farmhouse W'as 17x20 feet, in 
which he lived until 1870, when his present fine home was erected, and 
in the interim the boundaries of his farm ha\e also been extended until 
the place comprises four hundred and sixty-fi\e acres of land. He 
has di\-ided this among his boys, who are now operating it, with the 
exception of \\'illiani, who in February, 1902, was graduated from the 



270 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

College of Osteopathy in Kirksville, Missouri, and is now practicing 
in Hailey, Idaho. 

In poHtics Mr. Mercer was first a Whig and voted for General 
Scott, and in 1856 he cast his ballot for John C. Fremont and has since 
been a stanch Republican. He has filled various local offices and in 
i860 he was elected county supervisor, serving for two years, and was 
the first supervisor of the first superior court of Monroe county. He 
has always been active in support of measures for the general good, 
and through more than half a century's residence in the county his 
labors have greatly benefited his locality, and at the same time his 
efforts in business circles have brought to him a very gratifying return. 

JESSE SxNODGRASS. 

One cannot carry his investigations far into the history of Monroe 
county without learning that the Snodgrass family has long been a 
prominent and honored one in this section of the state. The year 1846 
witnessed the arrival not only of our subject but his parents and their 
children, and the three generations which have here lieen represented 
have taken an active part, first in reclaiming the wild land for farming 
purposes and since then in carrying forward the work of improvement 
and upbuilding. 

Jesse Snodgrass was born in Muskingum county, Ohio, January 
I, 1831, a son of Jesse and Jane (Atchison) Snodgrass. The father 
was lx)rn in Ireland in 1784 and spent the first twenty-four years of his 
life on the Emerald Isle, after which he crossed the Atlantic to America 
in 1809 on a sailing vessel. He took uj) his al)odc in Pennsylvania, and 
the vear 18 12 was an eventful one in his historv, for in that vear he 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GEXEALOGICAL HISTORY. 271 

was married and he also enlisted for service in the second war with 
England. He wedded Jane Atchison, a native of Washington county, 
Pennsyhania, and in 1825 they removed to Ohio, where they remained 
for twenty }'ears. coming thence to Monroe county, Iowa, in 1846. All 
was wild here, the district heing a frontier region, and the father en- 
tered from the goxernment the land upon which the city of Albia now 
stands, making it his home for nine years. His last days were spent 
upon the farm of his son Jesse, where he died in 1876 at the age of 
ninety-two years. His wife, whose birth occurred in 1795, died in 
Albia in 1858. In his ])olitical views Jesse Snodgrass, Sr.. was a Dem- 
ocrat in early life, hut liecame a stanch adherent of the alx)lition prin- 
ciples, and when the Republican party was formed to prevent the fur- 
ther extension of slavery he joined its ranks and continued to march 
under its banners until his death. 

Jesse Snodgrass, whose name introduces this record, remained a 
resident of Ohio until fifteen years of age, when he accompanied his 
parents on thefr removal to Monroe county, where he has since resided, 
and its history frijm pioneer times down to the present is familiar to 
him. He assisted in tiie arduous task of developing a new farm from 
the unbroken prairie, following the lireaking plow and later planting 
crops and gathering harvests. Throughout most of his life he has 
carried on farming, and is to-day the owner of a valualjle tract of rich 
and productive land, comprising two hundred and fifty acres. It is 
splendidly equipi)ed with excellent buildings, the latest improved ma- 
chinery and all accessories for facilitating the work of the farm, and 
through the careful and s}-stematic control of Ids business affairs he has 
gained a \'ery handsome competence. In addition to his agricultural 
pursuits he was engaged in merchandising in Albia for nine years. 



272 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

Mr. Snodgrass was united in marriage to Miss Sarah M. Martin, 
a native of Monroe county, Indiana, and a daughter of Wilham and 
Sarah Martin, who were natives of Ireland. After living in Indiana 
for some time they became residents of Monroe county, Iowa, in 1846, 
and here they spent tlieir remaining days. To Mr. and Mrs. Snodgrass 
have been born nine children, of whom six are yet living: Olive, who 
married John Lucas and has eight children; Cora B., at home; Emma, 
the wife of Dr. Bartram ; Charles, who is married and has two chil- 
dren; Susie, who is married and has two children; and Clara, who is 
also married, but has no children. Mr. Snodgrass provided his family 
with excellent educational privileges, all having entered the district 
schools and from there advanced until they became students in the 
state normal. The family is one of prominence in the community, noted 
for intelligence, business capacity, social qualities and moral worth. 
Most of the representatives of the name living in this county are mem- 
bers of the United Presbyterian ciiurch, although some are identified 
with other denominations. Since the parents of our subject came to 
the frontier of Iowa in 1846 Monroe county has been indebted to the 
family for what has been accomplished by its members in four genera- 
tions for the welfare and progress of this section of the state. Mr. 
Snodgrass has borne his full share in upholding the county's best inter- 
ests, and wherever he is known he is highly esteemed for his genuine 
worth. He is a supporter of the Republican party, with which he has 
affiliated since casting his first presidential vote for John C. Fremont 
in 1856, but has never been an ofifice seeker, preferring to devote his 
time and energies to his business affairs, in wliich he has met with 
gratifying success. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 273 

JAMES K. WATSON. 

James K. Watson, who is recognized as one of the leacHng farmers 
and stock raisers of Monroe county, resides on section 4, Troy town- 
ship. He was born in Juniata county, Pennsylvania, in 1846, a son of 
John and Ellen (Davis) Watson, who were also natives of Pennsyl- 
vania, and in that state the father died. The family continued to reside 
in Juniata county until 1871, when they decided to establish a home 
in the west and made their way to Monroe county, where was pur- 
chased the farm upon which our subject now resides — then a partially im- 
proved tract of land. The sons began the further development and cul- 
tivation of the place, and it was upon this farm, three miles northwest 
of Albia, that the mother spent her remaining days, passing away in 
1879. She had sursivcd her husband for twenty-seven years, and had 
e\'er remained true to his nicmor_\'. She carefully reared her children 
five in number, doing for them everythfng in her power, that they 
might be fitted for life's practical duties. Three of the children still 
survive her. 

Coming to Iowa, James K. Watson at once became a factor in the 
agricultural development of Monroe county, and the fine farm which 
he to-day owns is the visible evidence of his life of thrift and enterprise. 
\Vith the exception of six apple trees, every tree upon the place has been 
l)lanted by him. The buildings have been erected by him. and the fine 
property as we see it to-day is the result of his labors. In 1874 he was 
united in marriage to Miss Margaret Elder, who has since been to him 
a faithful companion and helpmate on life's journey. Their only child, 
however, died in infancy. Their first home was a small and i)oor house, 
16x24 feet, but after twenty years he erected his nice residence and in 
addition he has built good bams and other outbuildings. For some 



274 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

time he lias engaged in tlie l)reecling of fine stnck. more for his interest 
in fine domestic animals than as a source of profit. He was one f)f a 
company tiiat bronght the first Cl3'de and Perciieron stallions into 
Monroe county, and he has done much to improve tiie grade of stock- 
raised in this locality, while upon his own farm he has some very tine 
cattle, horses and hogs, showing the result of high breeding in i)roducing 
good grades. 

Mr. Watson cast his first presidential vote for (leneral (irant at the 
time of his second election, and has been deei)ly interested in the growth 
and success of his party, using his intluence to this end. His fellow- 
citizens, recognizing his wortii and ability, have called him to positions 
of public trust, and for ten \'ears he ser\'ed as township trustee, while 
in 1901 he was elected a member of the county 1)oard of supervisors, on 
which be is now ser\ing in an acceptable manner. He belongs to the 
I'uitcd l'resb\terian church, and in a business and political way is widely 
known in the county and stale, where be is recognized as a high type of 
our progressive American manhood. 

EDWARD TI>il>:NTON I'RINTZ. 

The medical profession has an eminent representative in Edward 
Trenton Printz. a leading physician of Moulton. Appanoose county. 
Iowa. He is of (ierman anccstr\- and inherits some of the estimable 
traits of that worthy race. Peter Printz, his paternal grandfather, was 
of German lineage and a native of Virginia, being a large planter. 
Solomon l''rintz, our subject's father, married Sarah Kiblcr. whose 
father. John Kiblcr. was a Virginia ])lantcr and also of German descent, 
and later came west with our subject's parents and died in Illinois at 




EDWARD T. PRIHTZ. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 277 

the age of eighty-seven. Solomon and Sarah Prints were bolli natives 
of Page countv. Virginia, and in 1849, with a family of two sons and 
two daughters, came west in a wagon and settled in Jasper county, Illi- 
nois, on a farm; there they spent the rest of their lives, he dying when 
past sixty, and she when past seventy. They belonged to the Evangeli- 
cal Lutheran church, and he was an active Democrat and a success- 
ful farmer. Their children were as follows: Calvin F., deceased; 
Hiram, living in Newton, Illinois, and a prominent business man of 
that place; the two daughters next in order died in childhood in Illi- 
nois; Lvdia, the wife of Mr. Strall, of Illinois; John .\., a fanner and 
stock-raiser of Jasper county, Illinois; Edward Trenton; and Mary, 
who died at the age of twenty-six years. 

Edward Trenton Printz was born in Newton, Jasper county. Illi- 
nois, November 6, 1856, and was reared on a farm up to his sixteenth 
year; he first attended the country schools and then attended the normal 
school at Newton. Having fitted himself thoroughly for the task of 
teaching, he followed that profession for five years in the state of his 
birth. Having decided that his bent of mind was toward medicine as 
a calling, he entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Chi- 
cago and graduated in 1884, after which he located in Newton, Illinois, 
and practiced for two years. The date of his arrival in Moulton is 
1886, since which time he has gained a large and lucrative patronage. 
Mr. Printz is a member of a numlier of professional organizations, the 
Iowa State Medical Society, the Des Moines Valley Medical Society, 
the Appanoose and Wayne Counties Medical Society, the .\merican 
Medical .\ssociation, and the National .Association of Railway Sur- 
geons. 

Dr. Printz was married in 1888 to Lizzie Marshall, who died in 



278 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

1890; in 1895 he was married to Yerna Dye, and he has had two chil- 
dren by his last wife. Fraternrdly lie is a Master Mason, a member of 
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. 

JOHX E. C.ARIl.XKTT. 

Far back into the early history of this countr)- can the ancestry 
of the Carhartt family be traced. The first of the name in .\merica was 
Thomas Carhartt, who crossed the .\llantic to serve as secretary to 
Governor Diigan, and in our subject's home is a complete genealogical 
record, giving the lines of descent from Thomas Carhartt down to the 
present. The parents of our subject were James S. and Mary (Elder) 
Carhartt, the former a son of Seth Carhartt and the latter a daughter of 
John Elder. They resided for some time in Coshocton county. Ohio, 
and both were natives of that state, but in 1850 they started westward 
and established their home in Monroe county, where the father engaged 
in farming. He spent his last days in the home of our subject, where 
he died aged seventy-six years. The mother afterward went to Union 
county, Iowa, where she died at the age of eighty-two years, but John 
Carhartt brought her remains back to this county, and she was buried 
by the side of her husband. In the family were six children, but John 
E. and one sister are the only ones now surviving. 

John E. Carhartt was born in Coshocton county, Ohio, September 
13, 1840, and was reared upon the home farm, spending the first ten 
years of his life in the state of his nativity, and then accompanying his 
parents on their removal to Iowa, with the interests of which state he 
has since been identified. His education was begun in a log schoolhouse, 
and he conned his lessons while sitting upon a bench made of a slab 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 279 

laid on wooden pins drisen into the wall. Later, however, he enjoyed 
better educational j)ri\ileges and for a time was a student in Albia. 
Reading upon the current topics of interest has made him a well in- 
formed man, and he keeps well versed on general subjects, political 
and otherwise. Through his _\outh he assisted in the work of the 
home farm, but during the early part of the Civil war he enlisted in 
Company E, Sixth Iowa Infantry, under Captain Sanders. He was 
with his regiment in a number of battles and skirmishes, and though he 
often went upon long marches or took part in battles when suffering 
from ill health, he reported for duty every day and loyally stood by 
the old flag until it was planted victoriously in the capital of the south- 
ern Confederacy. After the close of the war he was honorably dis- 
charged at Lcjuisville, Kentucky, and was mustered out at Davenport. 
There was no braver man in the army, and with a creditable military 
record he returned to his home. 

Mr. Carhartt at once went to his father's home, near where he 
now resides, and in the spring of 1866 purchased his present farm in 
Troy township. He further completed his arrangements for having a 
home of his own when in 1868 he married Miss Alice A. Boggs, a 
native of Monroe county. Four children have been born to them, of 
whom three are yet living: Mary L., who married S. H. Latham and 
has four sons; James S., who is married and has two sons and a 
daughter; and John \\'., at home, assisting his father in the cultivation 
of the farm. Since his marriage J\Ir. Carhartt has resided continuously 
upon his present farm and has made it a fine country home, its neat 
and tlirifty apjjearance being indicative of the care and supervision of 
a progressive owner. 

Never an active politician in the sense of ofiice seeking, Mr. Car- 



280 BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GEXEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

hartt lias always had firm faith in the principles of the party which he 
endorsed by casting his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln, in 
1864, while in the army. He has labored for the success of the party 
and is recognized as one of the stalwart Republicans of the locality. He 
is a charter member of J. R. Castle Post Xo. 313. G. A. R., of Avery, the 
oldest post in this section of the state ; for two years he served as its com- 
mander, after which he became quartermaster and has since held that 
ofifice. He also belongs to the Presbyterian church, and his Christian 
faith and belief have been manifest in his conduct toward his fellow- 
men, who know him to be a man of upright purpose and of intrinsic 
worth of character. 



THOMAS S. PATTOX. 

The above named, now living in retirement at Albia after a busy 
life, is a native of Ohio and has spent the whole of his activities within 
the borders of this state. Like most of his ancestors for generations, 
he has depended upon the soil for a livelihood, and the chief business 
of his life has been the cultivation of Mother Earth. His people, like 
nine-tenths of all the older Ii:)wans, came from eastern states during 
the formative period of this section and took part in the settlement, 
which was at its culmination between 1850 and 1870. The paternal 
grandparents of the gentleman under consideration were James and 
Anna (Walker) Patton, natives of Pennsylvania, who ended their days 
in the state of Ohio. Their son, James H. Patton, was born in Ohio 
in 1820, came to this state in 1856 and practiced medicine in Louisa and 
W'ashington counties, Iowa, for a few years, when he engaged in farm- 
ing. He died December 22, 1889. Dr. Patton married Elizabeth A. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 281 

Shaw, who was 1)orii in Washiiii^ton cmint)-, Pcnnsvlvania. in 1829, 
and died in Iowa in 1902. Her parents were Pennsylvanians, wlio emi- 
grated to Iowa, engaged in farming and died in that state. 

Thomas S. Patton. son of tiie physician above mentioned, was 
born in Harrison count}-, Oliio, August 29, 1849, '""^' remained under 
the parental roof until he reached the age of twenty-one years. In the 
expressive western language he then "struck out for himself" and spent 
the two following years in laboring for monthly wages. On l-'ebruary 
5, 1874, he married Mary .\., daughter of Josiah J. and Alargaret 
(Shaw) Orr, and a native of Louisa county, Iowa. Her father was a 
Tennessean, but the son of an Irish immigrant who came to this country 
at an early period and died at an advanced age. Josiah J. Orr came to 
Iowa about 1844 and purchased land, which he was engaged in farming 
until his death, which occurred January 26, 1900. at Columbus City, in 
the eighty-eighth year of his age, luning been born August 26, 1812. 
After his marriage Mr. Patton spent six months in Washington county, 
then rented a farm from his father-in-law in Louisa county, which he 
cultivated for seven years, and then purchased one hundred and twenty 
acres of partially impnned land in Monroe county, Iowa. This was 
followed l)y various purchases and sales until, as the result of all his 
transactions in real estate, Mr. Patton's holdings now amount to two 
hundred and ninety-six and one-half acres. Of the three children born 
to Mr. and Mrs. Patton. b^rcderick Oscar died when he was twenty 
months old; James O., who was born November 20, 1888, in Monroe 
county, is now attending high school ; Robert .\., the youngest child, 
was born .August 13. 1894, and like his brother gives promise of a 
l)right future. In fact, both of Mr. Patton's boys show unusual spright- 
liness and bid fair by their future achievements in life to reflect credit 



282 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

on their luniored parents. Mr. Pattun"s political affiliations have always 
been with the Republican party, and his first vote was cast for General 
Grant when he was making the race for his second presidential term. 
In religion he and his wife are believers in the doctrines taught by the 
United Presbyterian church, and as members of that denomination they 
have always been active in its work. 



SAMUEL A. NEWELL. 

Though not a native of Iowa, the above named has been a resident 
for over fiftv years, and so long has he been identified with the affairs 
of Monroe county that he may justly be classed with the earliest pio- 
neers. Originally from the north of Ireland, his ancestry settled in 
old Virginia many generations ago, and his paternal grandfather. 
Samuel Newell, was a man of note during the latter half of the 
eighteenth century. He enlisted for the Revolutionary war, fought gal- 
lantly in many engagements, and at the battle of King's Mountain re- 
ceived a British bullet in his body which he carried until his dying day. 
Samuel married a Miss Montgomery, and among their children was a 
son named William. The latter married Paulina, daughter of David 
and Elizabeth Fain, Tennesseeans by birth, who removed first to Ken- 
tucky and then to Indiana, where the former ended his days. William 
and Paulina (Fain) Newell came to Iowa in 1851 and settled in Monroe 
county, where the former died shortly after his arrival, in the fiftieth 
year of his age, his wife long surviving Jiim and dying when seventy- 
six years old. Of their eleven children six are living in different sec- 
tions of the country, and all of them have families of their own. 

Samuel A. Newell, who is included in the last mentioned list, was 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 2S3 

born January 25, 1838, during tlic residence of liis parents in Owen 
county, Indiana. He was tlierefore about tlTirteen years old when they 
came west, and grew to manhood on the farm settled by his father in 
Monroe county. After his father's death he became the head of tlie 
liousehold and occupied tlie position of a parent towards liis j'ouiiger 
brothers and sisters. He took charge of the farm and managed it until 
1870, and during the subsequent twelve years was engaged in mer- 
chandising at Melrose, Monroe county. After retiring from his mer- 
cantile venture in T882, he embarked in the live stock business, and since 
then has been a general dealer in this industry. 

In May, i860, Mr. Newell was united in marriage with Malinda 
J., daughter of David and Rebecca (Nail) Lukenbill, who came to Iowa 
in 1852. The father died in Eddyville in January, 1853, a few weeks 
after his arrival, but his wife lived to be sixty years old before passing 
away at the home of her daughter. She had nine children, and of these 
three are now living, including Mrs. Newell, with whom she lived and 
was tenderly cared for during her declining years. Mr. and Mrs. 
Newell have an only daughter, named Ida. who married David A. Cris- 
well, a train dispatcher, and has three children, one boy and two girls. 
The Newells have a creditable record for patriotism, gained at different 
periods of the country's history. Besides the grandfather, of Revolu- 
tionary fame, one of his uncles participated in the Black Hawk war, 
and Mr. Newell himself was one of "the brave boys in blue" who fought 
for the Union. In the spring of 1862 he enlisted in Companv C, 
Eighteenth Regiment, Iowa Volunteer Infantry, under Captain Van 
Benthusen, and served loyally with his command for al)out one year. 
Mr. Newell started his political career by voting for Abraham Lincoln 
when he was making his race for the presidency, and has ever since 



284 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

favored Republican ])rinci])les, thoiig^li lie is very independent in his 
\oting and "carries his sovereignty under liis hat." He was an Odd 
Fellow until his lodge surrendered its charter. He ma}- be described 
as a strictly self-made man, as what he has done has been accomplished 
without the assistance of wealthy or influential friends, and by his indi- 
vidual efforts he has obtained a creditable standing in the social and 
business world. 

GEORGE P. CRAMER. 

As the gentleman above named has been a resident of Iowa since 
1849, three years after the state's admission into the Union, he is en- 
titled to the designation "early pioneer," and also to the respectful con- 
sideration which attaches to that name everywhere. The variety of 
Mr. Cramer's jnu-suits, his large exi)erience with men and affairs, and 
the adventures that have befallen him during his long career make him 
an unusuallv entertaining companion, and a pleasant evening may be 
passed any time by one who induces Mr. Cramer to relate his experi- 
ences. He can tell stories of what happened while he was an officer 
of the law arresting criminals; he knows how to keep hotel from twenty 
years' experience in that business; as i)roprietor of a transfer company 
he has come in constant contact with that irritable quantity called the 
traveling public. But above all, Mr. Cramer once had charge of a 
circus and was successful in its management. He sold his circus to 
Sells Brothers. Knowing that others will be interested in such a man, 
pains have been taken to obtain the main details of his life, which will 
now be unfolded in consecuti\c order. 

The genealogy will be started with the grandparents on either 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 285 

side, botli of whom were Peiins}-lvanians of some note in tlieir day. 
Christopher Crane, the maternal grandfather, served as a soldier in 
the war of 1812, and paternal grandfather Cramer, wIkj spelled his 
name with an initial K. was a minister in the Lutheran church. The 
latter had a son, Christian J. Cramer, who was born at the family home 
in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and after he grew up learned the 
trade of a harnessmaker. He married Barbara Crane, of Huntington, 
and later settled in Blair county, Pennsylvania, where he spent some 
years in the prosecution of his regular calling. It was while his parents 
resided in Blair county that their son, George P. Cramer, was born, 
jMarch 16, 1834, and he spent the first fifteen years of his life in the 
place of his nativity. In 1849 the family migrated to the distant state 
of Iowa by the somewhat crude and mingled methods of travel then 
in vogue, and after their destination was reached a home was established 
in the county of Fairfield, Jefferson township. The_\- moved on a farm, 
but came to Albia in the spring of 1850. CJeorge P., not finding the 
opportunity he wanted near home, went o\-er to Fort Des Moines and 
secured a job of hauling sawlogs. This, however, he kept up only two 
months and then began looking around for something more suitable 
to his taste. Albia, now the prosperous capital of Monroe county, was 
at that time a mere hamlet, but Mr. Cramer determined to cast his lot 
with what seemed to be a promising place and located there in the fall 
of 1849. Securing a clerkship in a dry goods store, he supported him- 
self from his salary for two years. The father having reopened his 
harness shop at that jilace, the son joined him and spent two years as 
assistant manager and salesman. The termination of this pcricid 
brought him to the completion of the nineteenth year of his age, at 
which time he made his first important business venture. Beginning as 



2S6 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

a l)uyer and sliipper of live stock al .\lhia in 1S53, liis business grew 
with the town, and Mr. Cramer was one of the important dealers in 
this industry until 1866. when he closed out. His next venture was in 
the dry ^oods business, which he conducted at Albia two years and dis- 
posed of for the ])urpose of organizing a circus. This move seemed 
to be out of his line and caused some wonder among Mr. Cramer's 
friends, but he showed that he knew what he was doing and soon had 
his knights of the ring and sawdust, his accomplished equestrians, his 
fun-making clowns and other wonders going all over the country and 
showing to crowded tents. Tiiat be was making a success of it is amply 
proved by the fact that the great aggregation knows as Sells Brothers 
bought him out in 1870. After this exciting experience Mr. Cramer 
settled down to the more peaceful pursuit of hotel keeping, and for 
almost twenty-three years made the Cramer Hotel one of the most 
popular stopping places at .Albia. In connection witli the hostelry he 
conducted a bus and transfer company, of which he is still in active 
control. Though a lifelong Republican, having cast his maiden presi- 
dential v(jte for John C. Fremont, the party's first candidate, his office 
holding has been limited to membershii) in the city council and service 
as constable and deputy sherifT. 

On April 26, 1856, Mr. Cramer was married to I\liss Rachel Webb, 
whose ancestry is deserving of more than a passing notice. Her great- 
grandparents. Adrian and Lucinda ^^'ebb, were Virginians, who re- 
moved to Ohio early in the nineteenth century. Among their children 
was a son named John, who served as a substitute for his father in the 
war of 181J and drew a pension. He owned a farm in Preble county, 
Ohio, and there, on the 28th of September, 181 8, was born to him a 
son named facob. The latter remained mider the ])aternal roof until 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GEXEAI.OGICAL HISTORY. 287 

the completion of liis twentietli year, wlicn he went to Iowa and in 
the fall of 183S located in \'an Bnren county. Xi>t being satisfied with 
the situaticin, he "ahont-faced" and went to Rush county, Indiana, and 
a few years later to Jefferson county, in the same state. In the spring 
of 1846 he returned to Iowa, took possession of a farm in Monroe 
county and operated it until elected clerk of the court, in which office 
he served three terms. In 1855 he went to California, .spent two years 
there aiid in Jnly. 1857. reappeared at his home in Albia after a tedious 
trip across the plains. In 18(10 he tHi>k another trip west, this time on 
a prospecting expedition, which lasted about eighteen months, and 
since then Mr. \\ebb has resided at Albia. In 1840 he was married 
to Sarah J., daughter of David and Susan (Donney) Caldwell, natives 
of Kentucky, who died in Iowa. One of the children by this marriage 
was Mrs. Rachel Cramer, who was born in Rush county, Indiana, De- 
cember 4, 1840, and died in Albia, Iowa, December 22, 1882, leaving 
three children. ^\■. P. Cramer, the youngest of these, was born in 
Jefiferson county, Iowa, April 13, 1863, and died in Albia in 1895. The 
first child was Anna, now the wife of Sheriff John Doner, of whom a 
sketch is printed in another ]iart of this volume. The second of the 
children was Emma, who married Thomas Mitchell and has one child. 
March 22, 1888, Mrs. Cramer contracted a second marriage, with Melissa 
Garlinghouse, a native of Kentucky, by whom he has two children : 
George G., born July 12, 1889, and Elsie A., born December 27, 1891. 
The family enjoy cordial welcome in the best circles of Iowa society. 
He is also prominent in connection with the fraternal orders, having 
been a Mason for twenty years and a member of the Knights of Pythias 
almost from the incorporation of the organization, which he joined 
when there were onlv twentv-onc in the state. 



2S8 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

ANDRE^^■ JACKSON CASADY. 

This name recalls that period of American history when "Old 
Hickory" was the central figure on the political stage and hoys were 
called after him hy admirers of the great Democratic leader. In fact. 
Mr. Casady was born when the hero of New Orleans was at the height 
of his fame, and he was about entering the race which ended in his 
first triumphant election to the presidency. It needs no prophet to tell 
us that Mr. Casady's father was one of tlie mighty throng then shouting 
lustily for "Old Andy." as the naming of his son for the future presi- 
dent clearly indicates where he stood. As will be seen later, the son 
kept up the traditions of his family when he himself came on the politi- 
cal stage, and as a Democratic leader or candidate fought many a 
valiant battle for the principles of his party. He is a son of Thomas 
H. and Sophia (Scott) Casady, native New Yorkers, who were born 
and bred and died in the great Empire state of the east. The father 
was born at Albany, March 28. 1800, and died in 1857, while his wife, 
who was two years older than himself, survived until 1877, her birth 
having occurred March 28, 1798, just two years to a day before her 
husband's birth. They had nine children, but of these only three are 
now living. 

Andrew Jackson Casady was born in Jefferson county. New York, 
July 26, 1827, but by reason of his parents' removal was reared from 
the fourth year of his age to manhood in the county of Herkimer. 
After growing up he taught school for a number of terms both in town 
and country, and at his twenty-sixth year decided to try his fortunes 
in what was then called the "far west." A trip from New York to 
Iowa in those days was quite an c\cnt in one's life, inasnnich as the 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 289 

distance was long and tlie facilities tor transportation by no means the 
best. This tedious and even dangerous journey was, however, made 
bv Mr. Casady without accident, and in December, 1853. he arrived at 
Iowa City. The state being quite young and sparsely populated, the 
opportunities for employment or business were not so numerous as tliey 
became at a later period, so as a temporary means of gaining a liveli- 
hood Mr. Casady concluded to become a pedagogue. That teaching 
school in Iowa at that period was not without its picturesque features 
is evidenced bv the fact that during school hours it was no uncommon 
spectacle to see Indians peeping in at the windows to see what the 
"pale faces" were doing. At this time, how^ever, there was little fear 
of trouble from the Indians, and Mr. Casady taught many years in Iowa 
without feeling that his scalp was at all in danger. Meantime he had 
utilized his spare time in acquiring an elementary understanding of 
the law, and made such progress as to gain admission to the bar in 
i860. In his first case he had for an opponent Rush Clark, afterward 
speaker of the house of representatives and one of the most distinguished 
men in the state. In 1862 Mr. Casady joined a party which had been 
organized in Iowa City to pros]ject in the recently discovered gold fields 
in the Salmon river region of British Columbia. The passage across 
the plains to this wild and mountainous section was accompanied by 
dangers as well as privations, and Mr. Casady received a gunshot 
wound during one of the brushes with the Indians while traversing the 
country then claimed by those roving nomads. He is now the only sur- 
\ivor of the dashing party of young men who started out so bravely 
in search of adventure and fortune in the wilds of Snake river over 
forty years ago. 

In 1865, after his return from the west, Mr. Casady went to St. 



290 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

Charles, ^lissouri, to accept tlie agency of the express comparty at that 
point and spent several of the subseciuent years at different places in the 
same state. Later he returned to Albia and has since made his home at 
that enterprising county seat. At an early period he got in touch with 
frontier politics and soon became popular both as a worker and an office 
holder. His official service was as deputy sheriff in Johnson county, 
which he held under two different principals. Later he was elected in 
]\Ionroe county, Iowa, to the offices of county superintendent, auditor, 
surveyor, assessor and attorney. As previously stated, he was born and 
bred a Democrat and cast his first presidential vote for Van Buren in 
1848, and his zealous work has often been a benefit to his party asso- 
ciates at Iowa City. September 13, 1865, Mr. Casady was married 
to Miss Sue P. Morrison of Illinois, but of the three children of this 
union two died in infancy. Marion, who reached maturity, is the wife 
of Thomas H. Woolsey. a telegraph operator at Great Bend, Kansas, 
and has one child. Hugh H. Mr. Casaday and his family are well 
known and popular in Monroe county and enjoy a welcome in the best 
circles of societv at Albia. 



ALBERT HILTON. 

The name borne by this gentleman has been a familiar one in Ap- 
panoose and Monroe counties ever since their organization as bodies 
politic, and the Hilton family has been an influential one in this section 
from the time that Iowa was admitted into the Union as a state. In 
fact, the history of the founder is largely a history of Monroe county, 
as he came here when the Indians were still in possession, and only 
three years after Iowa was given existence as a territory. No apology 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 291 

therefore is necessary for dwelling at some length upon the biographical 
details of this early pioneer, as they will prove interesting to all who 
enjoy stories of the "olden time." 

James Hilton, who was destined to become such a prominent citi- 
zen of the future Iowa, was born in Orange county, New York, July 
9, 1816. Nine years later he was taken by his parents to New York 
city, there grew to manhood and in October, 1841. left his native state 
to identif}- himself permanently with the rapidly developing region be- 
yond the Mississippi. Travel then was mostly by the rivers, and after 
a tedious journey across intervening states the young voyager found 
himself on one of the small steamers used at that tiiue for navigating 
the great "Father of Waters." On this lioat he ascended the Missis- 
sippi to a little town called Keokuk and situated in what was then known 
as the Black Hawk Purchase. The landing at this point was made on 
the joth of Xmember, 1841, or only three years after Iowa territory 
had been organized, and when white men were not allowed to occupy 
the land west of the Purchase. What is now Monroe county was at that 
time the hunting grounds of roving tribes of red men. Owing to the 
unsettled condition of affairs young Hilton went to Missouri and re- 
mained there until September, 1842, when he returned to be present at 
the Iowa Indian agency when the treaty was negotiated between the 
national go\-ernment and the Sac aufl Fox Indian tribes. The negotia- 
tions resulted in the purchase and throwing open for settlement of all 
the territory extending from the west line of Jefiferson to the Missouri 
river, comprising more than two-thirds of the present state of Iowa. 
The \oung easterner was much impressed with what he saw on this oc- 
casion, and often in after life detailed the circumstances to parties of 
friends. The aboriginal owners of the land, yielding to inexorable fate 



292 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

and o\er\vlieIming odds, were assenililed to bargain away uniler duress 
their hereditary homes and yield the land tliey loved to the hated pale 
face. The chieftains present at these negotiations bore names that have 
been perpetuated throughout Iowa to designate dififerent political divi- 
sions of the state, but this is all that remains of that rnmantic race 
which roamed at will over all the boundless prairies of the west. Among 
the mighty chiefs taking part in this sad and solemn ceremony were 
Keokuk, Mahaska, Powshick, W'apello. Pashpaho, Plardfish and Appa- 
noose. 

.\fter the conclusion of this Jiistoric treaty, young Hilton returned 
to Missouri and remained there until May, 1843, "^ which time the 
Indians were to vacate so much of the territory as extended westward 
to a line agreeing with the west line of what is now Monroe county. 
He then came back, and the picture presented on his return so im- 
pressed his imagination tliat it remained a vivid recollection to his 
dying day. The country was still in all its virgin newness and wild 
grandeur. Herds and flocks of wild game, the great open country 
without habitation, houses, fences or any other indication of civiliza- 
tion — such was tlie panorama unfolded before James Hilton in the 
spring of 1843. 1^"^ this young man was there for practical rather 
than sentimental purposes, and the urgencies of the situation left him 
little time for moralizing: the main thing was to secure a home, and 
he at once made claim to a tract of excellent land, containing at that 
time two hundred and eighty acres, on which he soon had erected the 
small log cabin so characteristic of as well as so indispensable to the 
earl\- pioneer. On this place, which, however, underwent many changes 
in the way of buildings and other improvements, James Hilton resided 
during the long period that intervened between his first coming and his 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 293 

final call to rest nearly sixt\- years later. These years were marked by 
great activity both in pnlilic and private life, and during the time he 
held man\- offices of trust, which were administered with ability and 
unswerving integrity. He was the first clerk of the district court of 
Monroe county, having been appointed by Judge Charles Mason, in 
March, 1846. In April, 1857, he was elected judge of Monroe county, 
which necessitated his remo\-al to Albia, where he resided for several 
years in a hewed log house in West Benton street. While occupying 
the position of judge he built the court house at a cost of about ten 
thousand dollars, and was warmly commended by the people for the 
economic judgment displayed in its construction. In October, 1871, 
he was elected to represent Monroe county in the fourteenth general 
assembly and acquitted himself as a legislator with the same discretion 
he alwavs exhi1)ite(l im the liench. He was an authority on all things 
relating to the earl\- settlers and the history of Monroe county, and it 
was a rare treat to hear him relate stories and describe incidents of the 
remarkable times which have long since passed away never more to be 
seen of men. In the sjjring of i860 Judge Hilton gave up his residence 
at Albia and returned to his tieloved home in the country, where death 
overtook him on the 9th day of January, 1902, more than sixty years 
after he first set foot on the soil of Monroe county. 

In September, 1845, Judge Hilton was married to Mary E. Rankin 
of Davis countv, with whom he lived in utmost harmony and affection 
until she was called from the scenes of earth in 1875. This union 
proved as fruitful as it was hajjpy and of the tw'elve children all of the 
seven sons and three of the five daughters are still living. It is with 
Albert Hilton, one of the elder sons, that this biography is more imme- 
diately concerned, :ind some particulars concerning him will now be 



294 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

given. He was born in llie old historic homestead in Monroe county, 
Iowa, April 8, 1853, and was trained to farm life under the excellent 
instruction of his honored father. He received a good education as he 
grew up. and upon reaching manliood was well qualified for the duties 
which it was his destiny to discharge during his lifetime. His ambition 
had always been to succeed in the higher branches of agriculture, and 
his wishes in this respect have been amply fulfilled. .After securing a 
home of his own and one hundred and sixty acres of land as a basis 
of operations. Mr. Hilton scxin developed his qualities as a farmer and 
breeder. Turning his attention to blooded stock, he soon had one of 
those fine tlinroughbred herds for whicli hnva has so long been famous, 
and to-day he ranks as one of the most successful breeders of Monroe 
county. He has never aspired to office, but devoted all his time to the 
prosecution of his agricultural interests, and is a pronounced Democrat, 
l)Ut in local affairs votes for the best man. 

May 15, 1884. Mr. Hilton married Miss Mary A. Arnold, a mem- 
ber of another of the old and highly respected families of Monroe 
county. Her father. Willis Arnold, was born in Franklin county. Ken- 
tucky, October 13, 1809, being the ninth child of a family of twelve 
sons and one daughter, all of whom grew up, married and had families ; 
the last survivor is Mrs. I-lIiza J. Deal, a widow, who lived for some 
time with a daughter at Magnolia. Towa. In 18 16 Willis Arnold went 
with his parents to Washington county, Indiana, and later removed to 
near the town of Greencastle, where in 1835 ^''^ ^^'"^^ married to Martha 
Rice Reed. There were nine children by this uniim. the three sur- 
vivors being Elizabeth .\. Noble, Eliza J. Sylvester, both residing at 
Albia, and Marcus T. Arnold, a prominent business man of Bur- 
lington, Kansas. In the fall of 1850 Willis Arnold came with his fam- 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. '295 

ily to Alhia and in the fall of 1853 was elected to tlie office of sheriff 
of Monroe comity. He joined the Christian church at Greencastle, 
Indiana, in 1835, and at his house in Alhia the first Christian organiza- 
tion was made. His first wife died a few months after this event, and 
in 1853 Mr. Arnold married Zerelda Rohinson, of Indiana, by whom 
he had fnur children, and the three now living are Mrs. Mary (^Arnold) 
Hilton, Martha L. Waugh of Lucas county, and Albert G. Arnold of 
Fairfield, Nebraska. The father died February 24, 1899, ^t his home 
in .\ll)ia. when well ad\anced in the ninetieth year of his age. Mr. and 
Mrs. Albert Hilton have one son, Carl A., who was born J;uuiary 6, 
1888, has developed already into a zealous student and gives promise 
of a career in life that will reflect credit upon his honored ancestry. 
The family are members of the Christian church and liighh- respected 
in the best social circles of the county, as well on their own merits as 
liecause of the respect felt by all the people for the memory of their 
pioneer fathers. 

ROBERT W. TUTTLE. 

Iowa farmers, as a class, are regarded as the most intelligent and 
progressive, as they certainly are among the most prosperous, in the 
world. Nowhere is agriculture carried on more scientifically ; nowhere 
are methods more thorough and modern, and nowhere is the latest im- 
proved machinery in more universal use. The results are such as might 
be expected from the foregoing facts, as Iowa takes the lead in its out- 
put of that imperial crop of all crops, king corn, and in the number, 
quality and fineiicss of its blooded stock of all kinds. In all these par- 
ticulars the young giant on the banks nf the "Great Father of Waters" 



296 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

has long since left her older sisters in the east far behind in the path 
of progress. In fact, the methods,, implements and general .style of 
farming in the older eastern states are "old fogj'ish" compared with 
those i)revailing on the fat and fertile prairies of Iowa, which is now 
the chief priestess in the temple dedicated to Ceres. It follows from 
the foregoing that when it is said of a man that he is a worthy repre- 
sentative of Iowa farmers, he is justified in feeling complimented, and 
this can with truth l)e affirmed of Robert VV. Tuttle, who resides on his 
place near Moravia. It is interesting to know men of this kind and 
still more interesting to go upon their places and study the twentieth 
century process by which such splendid results are achieved in the 
noblest of all the callings. 

The Tuttles on the paternal side are descended from an old New 
York famil}', while through the mother the_\- trace back to the Virginia 
family of Law. Parmenas Tuttle, who was a nati\e of Oneida count}'. 
New York, came to Iowa about the middle of the last century and first 
settled in Alonroc county, not far from the present village of Moravia. 
He marrieil Elizabeth Law of Virginia, by whom he had seven chil- 
dren, and six of these are now living with families of their own. The 
father died at his Iowa home, aged fifty-seven years, but the death of 
the mother, who long survived him, did not occur until September, 
1902, when she was about seventy years old. Robert \V. Tuttle, one 
of their sons, was Ixjrn in Monroe county, Iowa, on his father's farm 
near Moravia, October 15, 1859. His early training and education 
were not unlike those of the average farm boy, and he remained with 
his mother until twenty-one years of age. February 10, 1880, he was 
married to Mary A. Temple, a native of Marion county, Iowa, where 
she was brought up on a farm and trained to all those duties which 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 297 

go to make tlie excellent housewife. Her father. John F. Temple, who 
came from Xorlh Carolina, farmed for a number of years in Iowa, but 
is at present living in Oregon. He married .\nna Bell Long of Penn- 
sylvania, who l)ore him three children and died some years ago near 
Moravia. After their marriage Mr. and ^Irs. Tuttle lived for some 
years in that economical way suitalile to a \oung couple beginning life 
on limited means, but they were industrious and thrifty and were soon 
able to indulge in some of the luxuries of life. Their residence up to 
1899 was a small house about 14x28 feet, where they contented them- 
selves until the present commodious residence was built and ready for 
occupancy. They are now agreeably situated in every way, and Mr. 
Tuttle's skill as a farmer, aided by his wife's excellent management, 
has brought prosperity to their hospitable home. Though his farming 
is chiefly of the mixed or general character customary in that section, 
J^Ir. Tuttle pays considerable attention to breeding roadsters, using 
only standard bred trotters as sires, and has turned out some line speci- 
mens of this kind of stock. He leads a quiet, unobtrusive life, attends 
strictly to business and performs punctually every duty devolving upon 
a good citizen and good neighbor. The household has been brightened 
by the achent of eight children, whose names, arranged in order of 
birth, are Warren \V., Etta L., Lora. deceased, Dessie D., Robert W., 
Marcia and Marie, twins, and Grace H. Lora died at the age of two 
years, Warren W. is attending college at Grinnell, and the others re- 
main at home. The entire family are members of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church, and the political affiliations of Mr. Tuttle arc with the 
Republican party. 



21*8 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

DAVID THORNTON STARK. 

A visitor to Moravia, Iowa, wlio calls at a certain farmhouse on a 
tract of land adjoining the village on the south will get acquainted 
with samples of the very best afforded by American rural life, and see 
a specimen of the agricultural development of the United States which 
is the wonder of the world. The recent owner of this farm was a man 
who came to Iowa in the year that saw its admission into the Union as 
a state, and whose career therefore covered the whole of that period 
which has seen this great commonwealth develop from raw prairie land 
to leadership in farm products among all the states of the Union. He 
and his good wife grew up with this western state, and at every step of 
its progress were found doing their full share toward accomplishing its 
manifest destiny. Each commenced life poor, and knew what it was 
to work and work hard. Each was one of a large family and com- 
pelled by circumstances to do drudgery of the most grinding kind when, 
under happier auspices, they would have been at school or play. Know- 
ing misfortune and hardships, equally inured to privation and care, they 
joined hands together when those hands were practically their only 
reliance, and side by side they struggled and hoped and prayed until 
fortune at length smiled upon them, with the result that they were able 
to spend the evening of their lives in one of the happiest homes that is to 
be found in all the region around. 

When David and Edith Stark came from their southern home to 
Indiana there was little in the prospect that was pleasing. It was early 
in the nineteenth century, when the Hoosier state was still enveloped in 
its massive forests of walnut, oak and beech, when comparatively little 
land had been cleared, and when the task before the agricultural pioneer 
was little less than appalling. But the Starks set resolutely to work 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 299 

like so many others of tlieir courageous compatriots, and somehow or 
otlier, by hook or by crook, managed to grub out a hving from the 
reluctant surroundings. In the course of time the first comers were 
gathered to their fathers, but a son was left to represent them and per- 
petuate the faniil)' name. When Caleb Stark grew up he married Rhoda 
Burney, and lived some years thereafter in his native state, but after re- 
peated discussions around the family fireside it was decided that they 
could do better by moving farther west. So, in 1846, the very year in 
which Iowa was made a state of the Union, this little caravan might 
have been seen wending their way toward the setting sun to cast their 
destiny with the new commonwealth just ernerging into existence on 
the banks of the Mississippi. One of this party was David Thornton 
Stark, who had been born in Scott county, Indiana, in September, 
1837, and was consecpiently at that time only nine years old. With a 
boy's freshness and watchfulness, however, he well rememljered that 
trip and often loved to tell about its incidents in after years. In due 
time the emigrants reached Iowa, and shortly thereafter settled on a 
farm in Appanoose county, in the vicinity of what is now Walnut City. 
But within one year after their arrival a great and what, tmder the 
circumstances, seemed an irreparable calamity fell upon the little family 
from the Floosier state. The father fell sick, and after lingering a short 
while was carried away in the \'ery prime of life, before he had reached 
his fortieth year. This blow seemed to be irremediable, liut the widow 
and the little ones braced themselves for the inevitable, and by dint of 
a desperate struggle managed at last to pull through. Foremost among 
the little workers who strained every nerve to help his mother was 
David Thornton, and many a time in later life he told of the hardships 
of those trying times. He worked hard and he worked late, he worked 



300 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

at home and lie worked for others. He found out what it was to be a 
hired boy for exacting neighbors, who hustled liim out of bed to eat 
breakfast by candle light, then to the barn to feed the stock, later to 
the field for a hard day's work, back to the house to do chores and to 
bed thoroughly exhausted l)y the day's labor. This routine, begun at 
ten or twelve years of age, w*ent on for some years, his compensation 
being a mere ])ittance. but that pittance went to help mother, antl David 
was satisfied. 

So things ran along until he l)egan to think of marrying, his choice 
falling upon a neighboring girl of great worth, who also knew what 
it was to work for a living. Sarah Burrows was the daughter of WiU- 
iam and Margaret Burrows, the former of North Carolina, and the 
latter of Tennessee, who had married early in life and settled in Lee 
county, Iowa. There were eleven children in this family, nine of whom 
are yet living, and as they were poor Sarah had to assist from early 
girlhood in keeping the wolf from the door. She and David Thornton 
Stark, therefore, were kindred spirits and knew how to sympathize with 
each other when, after their marriage, March lo, 1858, they "set up 
housekeeping" on a rented farm. Their only capital was willing hands, 
good health and ambition to succeed, backed by mutual love and confi- 
dence in each other. The struggle was a hard one during the years 
they lived on rented places, but by the closest kind of economy they 
managed to save some money for a rainy day. With this Mr. Stark 
found a chance to buy at a bargain eighty acres of land that was sold 
at sheriffs sale, paying half in cash and the rest at the end of a year. 
This tract, which lay near Walnut City, on the west. i)roved the starter 
or nest egg. and from that time on affairs went more smoothly with our 
worthy friends. Prosperity smiled u])on them, and a few years later 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 30l 

Mr. Stark traded liis little place for a larger farm lying between Mo- 
ravia and Iconium. This he afterward disposed of to advantage and 
purchased the Putnam farm in the same vicinity, which in turn was 
traded to his son-in-law for three small tracts near Moravia. Those he 
rented to different parties and retired to Moravia, where he engaged in 
the stock business and took things more easily for some years. Being 
at last in easy circumstances, he bought the fine farm adjoining Mora\'ia 
on the south, and in 1898 built the handsome house in which he and his 
faithful wife made their home and enjoyed comparative leisure aftei 
their arduous lives of labor and self-sacrifice. The venerable father of 
Mrs. Stark was affectionately cared for by his daughter and son-in-law 
imtil his eyes were closed in death, at the age of eighty-three years. 
Her mother went to live with a daughter in Missouri, where she was 
tenderly looked after until her earthly pilgrimage was eyded, in the 
sixty-seventh year of her age. 

Mrs. Stark has been an active member of the Christian church for 
more than twentv years, and she and her husband were regarded as 
pillars and mainstays in the Sunday-school and other religious work. 
None contributed more liberally than he toward the building of churches 
and spreading the gospel throughout Appanoose county, and his ex' 
emplary Christian life is an inspiration for the rising generation. In 
politics, while never an office seeker. Mr. Stark was always loyal to 
the principles of the Democratic party and cast his first presidential 
vote for Stephen A. Douglas, when the "Little Giant" was making his 
race against Lincoln in the memorable campaign of i860. A few addi- 
tional words as to the children of Mr. and Mrs. Stark will fitlv close this 
narrative. Rhoda J., their eldest daughter, married hap[)ilv Harlan 
Scott, but died at the early age of thirty-five years, after becoming the 



302 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

mother of six children; Mary A., the second daughter, married Noble 
Main and also has six children ; William, the eldest son, has a family 
consisting of a wife and one child ; James has had three children, but lost 
one by death. This record of Mr. Stark's prominence in his community 
and his worthy and useful life of sixty-five years will indicate how deep 
was the loss to his wife, family and friends, when on the 26th of Jan- 
uary, 1903, he was called to his final rest, after a life whose influence 
will be felt in tlie future generation. 



JOHN G. WILSON. 

The above named is a good example of the self-made man, which 
the free institutions of our great republic make possible of development 
from all the walks of life simply by allowing full play to the natural 
ability and resourcefulness typical to American youth. It has become 
a truism that the humblest child, with poorest surroundings, may in 
this country aspire to the highest honors, and if he does not reach them 
the failure is not due to artificial restraints or the obstacles of special 
privilege. In this country, at least, however it may be elsewhere, pov- 
erty of itself is no disgrace. The disgrace consists in doing nothing to 
avoid it. So, with every possible inducement to do well and every en- 
couragement to honorable ambition, it is a spectacle as common as it is 
pleasing to see young men all over the Union rising in a few years from 
penury to plenty and from lowly callings to become rulers of the state. 
In this honorable list the writer takes pleasure in placing John G. Wil- 
son of Albia. who, though scarcely yet in the prime of life, finds himself 
elected treasurer of the prosperous county of Monroe. He has achieved 
that honor without fictitious aid of any kind, without powerful scKial 




JOHN G. WILSON. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 305 

backing ov weallli. wliicli some people lielievc to l>e iinlispensaljle to 
success ill any great undertaking. These are valuable, undoubtedly, 
but not indispensable, as is proved in the case of Mr. Wilson and thous- 
ands like him, and it is always a pleasure to have such examples to bring 
forward frir the encouragement of others who are fighting life's trying 
battles. 

It is possible that but for the slavery agitation in years gone by 
Mr. Wilson would not be living in Iowa, but in the state down on the 
Atlantic coast where Sir Walter Raleigh landed the first band of white 
men that settled on those shores. Jesse M. and Miriam P. (Gardner) 
Wilson, the former of Irish and the latter of French descent, were living 
in North Carolina during the exciting period immediately preceding 
the great Civil war. Mr. Wilson, if not an outright abolitionist, had 
a dislike to the whole slavery system and no love for the insolent element 
which in the interests of that infamous institution were ruling things 
with a high hand in the southern states. During the last years of the 
fifties residence in any of these states was made very unpleasant for 
those supijosed to hold opinions antagonistic to the ruling classes, and 
this condition of affairs was the cause of driving away many of tin 
state's best citizens. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson, in 1859, determined to leave 
the land of their nativity and seek a home in the boundless west, where 
there were no artificial restrictions on worth or hateful caste dis- 
tinctions to repress honest ambitions. By one living in the age of 
trolley cars going at the rate of sixty miles an hnur and lightning ex- 
press trains crossing the entire continent in less than five days, 
something like amazement is felt at the statement that the 
Wilsons started on their long journey from the Carolina 
mountains to the u]iper course of the Mississipi)i with an ox 



306 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

team, and that fifty-fi\e days were consumed on the trip. But "the 
race is not always to the swift." and even a team of oxen will get there 
if you give them time enough. So in due course Jesse Wilson and his 
wife were found settled on a farm in Monroe county, which at that time 
was filled with virgin land yet untouched by the plow. The newly ar- 
rived North Carolinians did their share in the way of work, and it is 
needless to add that the rich Iowa soil did the rest. So it was not long 
until the emigrants were in comfortable circumstances, possessed of all 
the substaiitials and some of the luxuries of life. Mr. Wilson was a 
carpenter and supplemented his farm labors by working at his trade, a 
handicraft always in demand in new settlements, and between the two 
employments he had been able to lay by something when the messenger 
of death reached him in Januanv. 1900. He espoused the cause of the 
Republican party during his residence in Iowa, and held several town- 
ship offices, including that of justice of the peace, which he occupied 
about ten vears. He and his wife were members of the Methodist 
Episcopal church, and taught their children the tenets of Christianity 
as unfolded in the creed of that denomination. Mr. Wilson was about 
seventy years old when he closed his mortal career; his wife is still 
living on the old farm in Monroe township, in the seventy-fifth year of 
her age. Their children, seven in number, were: .Abel P.. Mary J., 
deceased: Nathaniel G., Martha .\., John G., Ephraim F., Rachel S., 
and all the living sons reside in Monroe county. 

John G. Wilson, fifth in the list above enumerated, was bom on 
the farm in Monroe county, Iowa, August 16, 1863, and after reaching 
suitable age assisted his father in the carpenter shop. After the com- 
pletion of his nineteenth year he entered the emplojinent of a railroad 
company and continued in this occupation eleven years, during a jx^rtion 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 307 

of which time he was fi)renian of a section gang. In 1894 he aban- 
doned railroading to engage in general merchandising at Foster, and 
was thus employed when elected treasurer of Monroe county in the fall 
of 1901. In December of that year he removed to Albia to enter upon 
the discharge of his ot^icial duties, which have ever since demanded all 
his attention to the exclusion of other business. 

In 1888 Mr. Wilson was united in marriage with Miss Minnie 
Winecup, of Monroe county, and they ha\e had six children, of whom 
five are li\ing. His religion and politics are in accord with those of his 
late father, which iriake him an adherent of the Methodist Episcopal 
faith, on the one hand, and an advocate of Republican principles on the 
other. 



CHARLES STAUBER. 

The late Joseph Stauber, besides being a very worthy and good man 
in the ordinary relations of life, was an interesting person to know on 
account of his patriarchal age. His career lacked only four years 
of covering the whole nineteenth century, and thus embraced the most 
interesting period of the world's history. He was born about the time 
that Jefferson was finishing his first administration, and it is well to 
recall a few events to show how long ago this was. The war of 18 12 
did not commence until eight years after Mr. Stauber's birth, and the 
battle of Waterloo was still eleven years in the future. Queen Vic- 
toria, whose reign is regarded as phenomenal for its length, was not 
even born at that time, and yet she passed to her account se\'eral years 
ago. Abraham Lincoln, who was five years younger than Joseph 
Stauber, lived his wonderful career and passed away thirty-five years 



308 BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

before Mr. Stauber"s death. Scores of people of national fame, who re- 
mained before the people so long as to seem old men, had their rise, 
progress and decline far within the period at both ends as measured by 
the birth and death of Joseph Stauber. He was an eye witness to all 
the wars of the Union after the Revolution. He was alive at the admis- 
sion of every state into the Union after Ohio in 1802. Since he came 
upon the scene the United States has grown from a straggling string of 
states along the Atlantic seal)f)ard, with a few million inhabitants, to a 
mighty republic, embracing all tlie territory between the two great cardi- 
nal oceans of the globe. Mighty, tremendous, almost inconceivable have 
been the changes and revolutions since Joseph Staubers' birth in 180-I 
and his death in 1900. 

The family of this name, though long settled in North Carolina, 
came originally from the north during the latter half of the eighteenth 
centur}-. Christian Stauber was still a boy when his parents left their 
home in Pennsylvania to find a new location in the Old North state, and 
he continued to live there until his death at the age of seventy-five years. 
He married Maria Baumgartner, and from this union sprang the Joseph 
Stauber who became the progenitor of the western branch of this numer- 
ous family connection. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Christian 
and Anna (Stair) Fogel, and lived for some years thereafter in North 
Carolina, but eventually decided to try his fortunes in the west. It was 
in the fall of 1849 *hat he j^icked his household goods and with his wife 
and little ones set out on the long and tedious journey to the distant 
state of Iowa. The point of destination was Fairfield, where they spent 
the W'inter of 1849-50, and in the spring of the last mentioned year 
removed to the county of Ap])anoose. At that time Iowa was a com- 
paratively wild state, and the farms which now "blossom as the rose" 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 309 

were almost entircl}- uniniijnned. The newcomers, wlio were rushing 
in by tlie thousands, were aljle to secure tiiese rich lands at what would 
now be regarded as ridiculously low prices, and in this way poor emi- 
grants could by very small investments in cash lay the foundations for 
magnificent landed estates. Joseph Stauber bought warrants for two 
hundred and fort)- acres of prairie land, on which stood a little shanty, 
and set to work with a will to improve his place. The absence of heavy 
timber made this a much easier task than confronted most of the pioneers 
in states farther east, and in course of time Mr. Stauber effected such 
magical changes that the once raw land is now one of the most highly 
improved and valuable farms in the county. His wife, who was two 
years his junior, having been born in 1806, passed away in 1878, but his 
own death did not occur until March 12, 1900. 

Six of their eight children are living, and of this number is 
Charles Stauber, who was Ijorn in North Carolina in 1847, ^.nd conse- 
quently was about two vears old when his parents came to Iowa. As 
he grew up he assisted his father in making the old homestead what it 
is now, and learned the art of agriculture after the Iowa methods, which 
are perhaps the best in the world. At first, of course, it was necessary 
for the family to live in a rather rude way, after the manner of pioneers, 
and for many years they were sheltered in a cabin about sixteen by 
thirty-two feet in size. This in time was replaced by a commodious 
residence, completed in 1874. and all the other necessary buildings and 
adjuncts of an up-to-date farm were added as they were needed. .Ml 
the children married and went to themselves with the exception of 
Charles and Ellen, who, since the death of their father, have continued 
to occupy the home place. Though Mr. .Stauber has preferred to re- 
main a bachelor, his home has not been without the cheerfulness that is 



310 BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

imparted hy the i)resence of children. His score of nephews and nieces 
think the world and all of "Uncle Charles." and tlieir frequent visits to 
the old homestead are the source of much merriment and social pleas- 
ure. The farm is situated ahftut one mile east of the village of Mor- 
avia, in one of the most desirable sections of the county, and is culti- 
vated by Mr. Staubcr with the skill and gncxl judgment which come 
only from long experience. His standing in the county, both as a busi- 
ness man and model citizen, leaves nothing to be desired, and none enjoys 
greater personal jiopularity among those who know him intimately. 
Though his parents were of the religious sect known as Moravians, Mr. 
Stauber is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, but his 
sister still stands by the old church. 

DAVID H. SCOTT. 

For over half a century David H. Scott has l)ecn one of the promi- 
nent citizens of Monroe county, Iowa, where he has made an enviable 
record not only as a progressive farmer, but also as a public-spirited 
man who has been raised to high places of trust in his county, and 
now in the declining days of his long career he enjoys that satisfaction 
which always belongs to the man of upright character. 

On Februarv 25. 1797, Alexander Scott was born in Westmoreland 
county, Penns\!\ania : he later removed to Fleming county, Kentucky, 
where he was married to Martha Wills, who was a native of Fleming 
county, Kentucky, born in 180^). Shortly after their marriage, in 1827, 
they came to Putnam county, Indiana. 'Iliere Mr. Scott, who was a 
farmer and wheelwright by occupation, located on a strip of timber land 
and spent considerable time in clearing and improving it. Both of these 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 311 

worthy people dieil in Indiana, the luishand passing away in ic^jy. on the 
same day and montli mi whicli liis hirlli (jccurred, and his wife in 1847. 
David H. Scott, wiio was a child of tlie aljove parents, was born in 
Fleming county, Kentucky. June 27, 1825. and he attended school and 
worked on the home farm until he was twenty-one years old. He then 
married and he and his wife first went to housekeeping in Clinton county, 
Indiana, where they lived on a rented farm for one year; they next 
moved to Putnam county and farmed for four years. On October i, 
1850, they arrived in Iowa; in the previous year Mr. Scott had come to 
Monroe county and entered a piece of land six miles north of the present 
town of Albia, and on this he built a log cabin and a wheelwright's shop 
and settled down to real life. In the fall of 1854 he sold out and ]nn'- 
chased a farm that now joins Albia on the north ; much time and money 
were spent in the improvement of this propert\-, and in 1861 he dis- 
posed of this land and bought a place four miles east of Albia, to which 
he removed in the spring of 1862. In August of this year his patriotic 
spirit aroused him to enlist in Company A, Thirty-sixth Iowa Infantry; 
he entered the service as first sergeant and was later commissioned sec- 
ond lieutenant, but after two years' service, while in the discharge of his 
duty as an officer of the government, he suffered a broken 
leg and resigned his pijsition and returned home. While 
away in the army he had left his farm to the care of his wife 
and children, wlio right nolily performed the vigorous duties j)ertaining 
to its management. On his return he took up the work of improvement 
ani-l resided there until 1896; in this year he sold out and removed to 
.\ll)ia. where he and his wife now make their home, relieved from the 
cares and responsibilities of earlier life and enjoying the ease which 
comes as the result of diligent efTort. 



312 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

Mr. Scott has an excellent record as a public-spirited man and as 
a leading member of the Republican party of his county. In 1854, 
when the movements were on foot to establish what is now the Repub- 
lican party, he helped to organize the party in Monroe county and has 
ever since been one of the active spirits in politics. For twenty years he 
served as assessor of his township and as a final reward for his services 
and in recognition of his ability, in 1895 he was elected to the Iowa 
house of representatives from his county ; he served in the session of the 
following year and also in the e.xtra session which followed, called for 
the purpose of revising the state laws. Mr. and Mrs. Scott are de- 
voted members of the First Presbyterian church; Mr. Scott has been 
an elder for forty-three years and he was twice sent to the Presbyterian 
general assembly, one at Saratoga, New York, in 1883, and one at Port- 
land, Oregon, in 1892. Fraternally he is connected with the (irand 
Army of the Republic. 

On the 16th of October, 1845, Mr. Scott was married to Miss Mary 
Wills, who was born in Fleming county, Kentucky, May 28, 1827. Her 
parents, David and Sarah (Ramsey) Wills, were natives of Kentucky, 
the father being torn in March, 1799, died in 1868. and the mother torn 
January i, 1807, died March 29, 1889; lliey were married in Kentucky 
and he followed farming as a life occupation ; in October, 1837, they 
moved from Kentucky and went to Putnam county, Indiana, and re- 
mained there until 1850, when they came to Monroe county, Iowa, where 
they made their home until their death ; for a number of years they were 
on a farm one mile south of Albia. Mr. and Mrs. Scott became the 
parents of nine children, five of whom are living: Mrs. Clara Ellen 
Godfelter, of Independence, Oregon : Sarah Martha died at the age of 
six years ; Margaret Ann died two years after her marriage to Mr. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 313 

Charles Fox; Mrs. Mary 1^.. Smilh lives four miles south of .\ll.)ia; Mrs, 
Melissa Jane Coojjer lives in this eounty : Charles Sumner died at the 
age of four years; Mrs. Laura Belle Campbell is a resident of St. Louis; 
Mrs. Amy Mildred Dixon resides in Vincennes, Indiana; and Emma 
died in infancy. 

WILLIAM K. HARDENBROOK. 

To the superficial observer it often seems that worldly success is 
the result of some inherited talent which has given an individual the 
start of mankind or is the result of some adventitious circumstances 
usually designated as luck, but when studied from the standpoint of 
universal historv the open sesame which unlocks the door of success is 
found to be nothing more nor less than industry and perseverance, quali- 
ties before which the most obstinate obstacles gradually yield and open 
the road to golden gain. .\n(l this rule is exemplified in the case of the 
subject of this sketch, who. starting with only the knowledge of a trade, 
has worked himself to a place of prominence in his city. 

His father, Isaac Hardenbrook. was born in Ohio, February 22, 
1823, and died March 12, 1888; he married Mary A. Kelly, who was 
born in Jefferson county, Ohio, Sqjtember 15, 1823, and later came to 
Morrow county, Ohio, with her parents, where her marriage occurred 
in 1843. Isaac Hardenbrook was actively engaged in farming during 
the earlier part of his life and later operated a fiouring mill; he dis- 
posed of his farm near .\lbia, Iowa, in 1874, and moved to La Villa, 
where he ran a flouring mill until i886, when he retired from active 
pursuits. After his death his wife made her home in Kansas for three 
years and then resided in .\lbia with her daughter until licr death, Jan- 



314 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

iiary 13, 1903. Of the nine cliiUlren born to these parents four are now 
living. 

One of tlie sons of the above parents was William, wlio was born 
in Mount Gilead, Morrow county. Ohio, Noveml)er 9, 1844. His boy- 
hood was spent on the farm of his birth until he was twelve years old, 
and on May 8, 1856, he came with his ])arents to Monroe county, Iowa, 
and lived (jn his father's farm five miles north of Albia. His educa- 
tion was received in the town school of Mount (jilead and in the country 
schools of Monroe county. William remained with his parents until 
Julv. 1862, when the Civil war summoned him into the ranks, and he 
enlisted in Company D, Twenty-second Iowa Infantry, under Captain 
R. M. Wilson; he spent nine months in the service and then received 
an honorable discharge on account of physical disability. After his re- 
turn he went to Osceola, Iowa, where three years were ,s])ent in learning 
the harness trade; having thoroughly mastered llic business he worked 
for three years at this trade in Henry count)'. Illinois; he then spent 
about a year in .Mbia and in 1871 went to Minneapi 'lis. On November 
I. 1874, Mr. Hardenbrook opened a harness shop on the southeast cor- 
ner of the square in .\lbia and since tliat time has rapidly extended his 
business and increased his influence in the various affairs of the city 
until he is now recognized as one of the leaders. He located in his pres- 
ent convenient and commocHous store in 1887. 

Mr. Hardenbrook has been very influential in the councils of Re- 
publican party: lie has been a member of the cit_\' council and has been 
chief of the fire department; in 1897 he was nominated and elected to 
the office of mayor and such has been the satisfaction with his adminis- 
tration that he is now serving his thirtl term. He is a member of var- 
ious organizations, the Grand .\rmy of the Republic the Independent 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 315 

Order of Odd I'cHdws, tlie Woodmen of llie \\'orld, tlie Ancient Order 
of United Workmen and the Elks. In 1876 Mr. Hardenbrook was mar- 
ried to Julia B. JNloiint, who was born in West Virginia, June 21, 1854; 
her parents, Jolin and Mary Mount, l^ecame residents of Fairfield, Iowa, 
and spent tlieir declining days in Albia; John ■Mount was a cabinet maker 
by trade anil at one time owned a store in /\lbia. One child, Carrie M., 
was born to Mr. and Mrs. Hardenl)ro(jk, and slie resides at home witli 
her parents. 

JOHN G. BRIDAL. 

.\t one of the hospitable homes in Moulton may be found an elderly 
gentleman of English birth, but a tlKiroughly Americanized citizen, who 
is a decidedly interesting i)erson to talk to. He can tell you of a period 
in American history which yields to none in "stirring incidents of flood 
and field." tragic events growing out of sectional feuds, racial wars and 
deeds done when the passions of lawless men are at their worst. For 
Mr. Bridal will entertain you with stories of "Bleeding Kansas" in the 
days of tlie "border rufiians," old John Brown of Osawatomie and the 
frightful feuds growing out of the bitter antagonism between the advo- 
cates of slavery and the frierids of freedom. From 1836 until 1865 Mr. 
Bridal was right in the midst of all this and i)articipated actively in some 
of the most exciting scenes of those dark and tempestuous times. One 
who listens to him now in liis quiet retirement at Mouiton and finds him 
in a mood to talk of his lirst ten years' experiences in "free America," 
W'ill lie struck at the contrast between the startling nature of his themes 
and the subdued voice in which he describes them. 

It was to Joseph Bridal, a gentle English shepherd, and his wife, 



310 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

Elizabeth (lalpin, tliat America is indebted for the son who was des- 
tined to take sucii lively i)art in the first serious collision between the 
lorces of freedom and the hateful system of human bondage. John G. 
Bridal, child of these unassuming parents, was born in Dorsetshire, 
England, Septemlier ii, 1831, and twent\-three )ears later found him- 
self standing in New York city wondering where to turn for a living. 
He finally decided to go "up state" to the great river connecting Erie with 
Ontario, and here for a few months he secured employment as a boat- 
man on the Niagara. Tiring ni this occupation, the young Englishman 
moved further west and upon arriving in Illinois secured a year's work 
as hired hand in connection with a sawmill and farm. The termination 
of this job brought him into the year 1856. when he married Mary 
Gaplin, and later made a move which introduced all the excitement he 
wanted into his hitherto rather uneventful life. In the year following 
his marriage, Mr. Bridal, with his newly made bride by his side, started 
on his venturesome trip to Kansas. On the way they were joined by a 
Methodist minister named Frate Shepard, who was taking his family to 
join a brother then engaged in selling supplies to the Indians in Frank- 
lin county. .\t the time these little parties united their forces the terri- 
tory to which they were journeying was the most disturbed and the most 
dangerous place in the United States. Kansas was filled with outlaws 
of every kind, rude and lawless people from all over the world, intent 
only on killing and plundering, and a "holy terror" to all persons peace- 
fully inclined. What were called the "border ruffians" were organized 
gangs from the southern states, chiefly Missouri, whose object was to 
make a slave state out of the new territory, and with this end in view 
they sought to (lri\'e out all who were unfriendl}- to their scheme. .As 
many fearless men had come to this debatable land from the northern 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 317 

states and man}- of them were strong Abolitionists, hating slavery with 
all the earnestness of their natures, it was easy to foretell that the rufhans 
would not have it all their own way. In addition to all this, the terri- 
tory abounded in wild Indians, who were not slow to take advantage of 
the incipient Civil war, and altogether Kansas at that time was anything 
else but a pleasant summer resort. 

When Mr. Bridal and his fellow travelers reached their destina- 
tion in Kansas, they were not long in realizing the deadly dangers by 
which they were surrounded. Hardly had they alighted from their sad- 
dles until it was ascertained that a conspiracy to exterminate them was 
on foot among the Indians. Fortunately for the intended victims, how- 
ever, a squaw who was at the time on unfriendly terms with her tribe 
betra}-ed the plot in time to enable them to escape. This treacherous 
action of the redskins delayed for two years a treaty then pending be- 
tween them and the United States government and caused much incon- 
venience. After this trouble subsided Mr. Bridal and Preacher Shep- 
ard secured a job of hay-cutting from one of the Indian chiefs, but dur- 
ing the six months' time of its continuance had many exciting experi- 
ences and narrow escapes from the wiles of the savages. 

While living in Franklin count}-, Mr. Bridal became acquainted 
with the then only locally known John Brown, who was destined soon 
to obtain world-wide celebrity as organizer and leader of the famous 
Harper's Ferry raid. .\t the time under consideration. Brown was en- 
gaged in preaching to his followers in Franklin count}-, and Mr. Bridal, 
who often went to hear him, says he always placed revohers on the 
pulpit in front of him before he began to talk, to prc\-ent attacks front 
the friends of slavery. The natural gloominess and bitterness of the 
old fanatic had been greatly intensified by the killing of three of his 



318 BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

sons at the Iiaiuls of the "Ijorder ruftians." and liis intense hatred of slav- 
ery was douhtless accentuated l>y desire for personal revenge upon the 
murderers of his children. Although Mr. Bridal enjoyed the personal 
acquaintance of Hrown. he knew nothing of the plans for the Harper's 
Ferry episo<lc until the explosion of thai great forerunner of the Civil 
war had electrified the nation from ocean to CKean. 

In 1858 Mr. Bridal went to Kansas City with a team of oxen to do 
hauling, and his first jol) was to take a load of sugar and cofYee to some 
Osage Indians who were located at Humholdt. one hundred miles west 
of his starting point. It was a dangerous and desperate trip and one 
which Mr. Bridal will never forget, beset as the country was by savage 
Indians and still more savage white men. He lost his way several times 
and once after night dro\'e far out into a pond and liad much difificulty 
in extricating himself from the murky morass. Near Mound City he 
came upon a party of friends located in a fort and shortly after his ar- 
rival the men tleparted to \-isit their families in dififcrent parts of Kan- 
sas, leaving two boys on guard. Mr. P>ridal mo\ed on west and when 
he reached his destination found that the i)eople he came to supply had 
been out of provisions for nearly a month and were almost starved. On 
his return trip he learnetl that a bl(j<Kly traged\' had been enacted at the 
fort which he passed on the outward journey. The two boys left as 
guards, besides ten other ])ersons, had been murdered by a band of vil- 
lains, such as were then often met with in that turbulent territory. This 
same gang of rufifians had met Mr. Bridal on their way to the fort, but 
strange to say had not robbed or molested him in any way. Mr. Bridal 
was a resident of Kansas when the xote was taken on the momentous 
question of making it a free or slave state and this contest led to intense 
excitement among the op^xising factions. In order to \ote Mr. P>ridal 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 319 

and others were cinniielletl to cross tlie ri\-er, whicli was swollen high at 
the time, and for the benefit of those who could not swim, W'illiam H. 
Lawrence, afterward secretary of state of Kansas, swam across carrying 
a rope which was stretched over the stream and used as aid for his fol- 
lowers. In 1862 Mr. Bridal enlisted in Nug'ent's Second ^lissouri Bat- 
talion and for six months was with this command in pursuit of General 
Price and his raiding forces. He also assisted in defense of Fort Scott, 
meeting a force of Confederates which outnumbered the Union troops 
seven to one, but they succeeded in defeating them. The nearest Mr. 
Bridal came to being wounded was when three bullets passed in rapid 
succession through his hair, but they only grazed the scalp and did no 
injury. This ended his war experience and also his adventures in 
"Bleeding Kansas," which he left shortlx- after the war for more peace- 
able and congenial climes. 

In 1865 'is located in Davis county, Iowa, having lost his wife in 
Kansas in 1864, and two years later came to Appanoose county, where 
he lived until eleven years ago on a farm north of Moulton and then 
moved to town, where he has since resided. By his first marriage he 
had three children: Joseph W., of Council Bluffs, Iowa; George L., 
of Oklahoma; Mrs. Ann E. Taylor. By his second marriage, to Martha 
J. Dysart he had two children : Arthur, of Appanoose county, and 
John, of South Dakota. His present wife was Jane Thrap, a native of 
Ohio; w-as brought to Davis county, Iowa, when (piite small bv her ])ar- 
ents, Henry and Susannah (Moots) Tharp. "Mv. Bridal is a member 
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and one of the esteemed 
comrades in the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic. 



320 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

W. PARKER TAYLOR. 

Descended from early residents and connected with a family long 
identified with the interests of Appanoose county, Mr. W. Parker Tay- 
lor owns and resides upon a farm of tJu'ee hundred and thirty acres of 
what many consider the finest land in the county. His home is the 
abode of elegance, comfort and hospitality, and its owner is one of the 
most popular as he certainly is one of the most substantial citizens of 
the township. The family name for generations has been connected 
with farming, but the younger set, being lx)rn in the age of marvelous 
advances in scientific agriculture, have figured conspicuously in all that 
relates to that great industry in the section where their lot has been cast. 
They are of eastern origin and of mixed northern and southern blood. 
Samuel 'l"a)]c)r. who was l)orn in Ohio in 1816, and Elizabeth Pella, 
whose birth occurred in West Virginia, August 4, 1832, met and mar- 
ried man\- years afterward in the state of Iowa. Their union took place 
in Davis county in 1S55, but later land was purchased in Appanoose 
county, where the father farmed and raised stock with success until 
his death in 1891 at the age of seventy-five years. His widow survives 
and makes her liome with a son, John E. Taylor, who now owns the old 
homestead. 

W. Parker Taylor, another of the sons, was born in Davis county, 
Iowa, October 8, 1859, and remained under the parental roof imtil sev- 
eral years past his majority. In 1883, he matle his first venture on his 
own account by beginning work on one of the neighboring farms and 
while so engaged, like the young man in Tennyson's poem, his fancy 
"lightly turned to tliDUgiits of love." In otlier worils. ho determined to 
take a wife, and this resolve was consummated by his marriage on Marcii 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 321 

5, 1884, to jMiss Xancy J. Ransom. Ininiediatelv thereafter tlie young 
couple settled down to housekeeping on the old Taylor farm, which had 
heen entered from the government by his father, and have since had no 
complaint to make as to the share of happiness and prosperity vouchsafed 
to them. In fact, they have every reason to he thankful, as in addition 
to the lu.xurious home above mentioned and other property, both real 
and personal, their household has been brightened by the advent of 
healtln' and happy children, such as cannot fail to delight a parent's 
heart. Of the seven born to Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, they have lost only 
one by death, the survivors being Clarence Lowell, Orpha, Samuel D., 
Leo, Elsie and Mabel. Father and mother are members of the Metho- 
dist Episcopal churcli, while Mr. Taylor's fraternal connections are with 
the Masonic Order and "Yeomen." 



JOHN N. McFALL. 

After working hard on his farm for over fifty years with only brief 
and occasional intervals of rest, the gentleman above named was com- 
pelled in the fall of 1902 to suspend his personal labors on account of 
poor health. Nor will any one begrudge him this well earned rest which 
comes in the evening of a long and useful life, during which he has 
reared and provided for a large family, borne his share of all public bur- 
dens and fulfilled c\-ery obligation of good citizenship. Mr. McFall's 
earliest recollections arc nf an "old Kentucky" home, in which he played 
with a numerous band of little brothers and sisters, most of whom have 
long since settled their earthly accounts and joined the silent majority. 
The head of this household in the "time long ago" was David McFall, 
an industrious, hard-working man who ckcd out a living for himself 



322 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

and numerous ijfogeny by incessant lal)or on a none-too-productive Ken- 
tucky farm. >le married Mary Ann Harvey who, like himself, was a 
native of the state and after "plodding along" many weary years they 
concluded to try their fortunes in a more bounteous if not more con- 
genial clime, where better results would reward the toiling husband- 
man. With this end in view, the father and mother prepared for the 
long journey to the "far west." and there was something both pictur- 
esque and ])athetic in the picture presented on the eve of departure. As 
there were few railroads in those days, the trip must necessarily be made 
in wagon and the lack of gof)d roads, the innumeral^le streams to be 
crossed and the long distance, made such a journey a very serious under- 
taking. The household "plunder," as it was called, was loaded into 
the "prairie schooner." the numernus children were stowed awa)- as well 
as possible, a final farewell was taken of friends in old Kentucky and the 
adventurous emigrants were off for the distant state of Iowa. The 
journey included the passage through many states, the crossing of the 
Ohio. Mississippi and scores of other streams, with all the incidents and 
accidents sure to happen to such a train of movers. This was in 1850, 
and after being many weeks on the road the weary wanderers finally 
reached their destination in .\])])anoose county, where they secured a 
humble home and set bravely to work to re-establish their shattered for- 
tunes. There were altogether eleven children in the family, but only 
three of them now remain. The father died at St. Louis in 1862. while 
visiting a son who was in the army at that place, and the mother, after 
surviving him about twelve years, passed away in 1874. 

John X, McFall, one of the three surviving children, was bom 
at Russell. Kentucky. December n. 1836. and well remembers the 
wagon trip across the cnuntr_\-. as he was fourteen years old at the time. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GEXBALOGICAL HISTORY. 323 

As lie grew up in Appanoose county lie worked at such odd jobs as he 
could ol)tain. mostly mi farms, until eventually he was able to have a 
home for himself and settle down to the peaceful pursuits of agricul- 
ture. As the sharer of his cares and joys he selected Miss Lavisa King, 
to whom he was married in iHhi. and of whom lie was ])ercaved by 
death on the I4tli of July, 187O. The six children of this union are 
James William, a resident of Kansas; David L., Francis 1\I., John L., 
Mrs. Amanda Ellen Davidson and Charles W. Mr. McFall is a man 
of religious tendencies and has licen a member of the Christian church 
during all the years of his adult life. He continued to attend actively 
to his business afifairs and do more or less manual labor on his farm 
until the fall of 1902. when he was compelled by ill liealth to seek re- 
tirement. Since then he has been making his home with his second- 
born son, David L. McFall. The latter was married to Mary E. Mc- 
Grew, of Appanoose county, and they have five children: Alta M., 
Blanche I.. Ella C, Glenn C, and Zana E. 

JAMES C. BARROWS. 

The alxne named gentleman needs no introduction to citizens of 
Appanoose couiit\-, but a few biographical details concerning tliis promi- 
nent editor of Centerxille may i)rove of interest to those living without 
the s])]iere of his activities. l"or twenty-two years Mr. Barrows has 
been identified with new.spaper work at the county seat, and two-thirds 
of this time has been spent as pro])rietor of its leading political journal. 
Such a ])osition, always (Mie of conspicuousness and res])onsibility, has 
necessarily given Mr. Barrows a wide acquaintance and brought him in 
touch with the forces engaged in develojiing and governing his city and 



324 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

section. Though editors naturally make enemies, Mr. Barrows has 
probably escaped with as few of these necessary counter-irritants of 
successful men as any one in the business, a result due largely to an un- 
failing tact and a "sweet reasonableness" combined with firmness. 

Though Mr. Barrows was really born in Canada, it was so near 
the border and under such circumstances that this slight difference in 
geography cannot be cited in discount of his genuine Americanism. 
His grandfather was a Vermonter, who engaged in business near Pres- 
cott, on the Canadian side of the St. Lawrence, and retained a residence 
in that locality during the remainder of his life. He left a son who 
strengthened the ties originally binding him to American soil by marry- 
ing a lady of the typically patriotic family of Adams, whose ancestors 
came from Boston. James C. Barrows, the future editor with whose 
affairs this sketch is concerned, was the son of the last mentioned couple, 
and his birth occurred at Prescott, Ontario, February i6, 1845. Eleven 
years after his appearance in the world his parents removed to Iowa 
and located in Wapello county, but after the war Mr. Barrows located in 
Center\-ille, where he has since resided. In 1856, the date of his arrival, 
Iowa was a new and comparatively crude state, having been a member 
of the Union only ten years and as yet scarcely giving promise of the 
wonderful commonwealth which it has since become. It was a good 
state to go to, however, and a good state to remain in, as Mr. Barrows 
and some hundreds of thousands of others have long since found out. 
It was, above all, a patriotic state and rallied rapidly to the support of 
the flag of the free when that sacred emblem was menaced by the re- 
bellion of 1 86 1. Though quite young when this portentous event oc- 
curred, Mr. Barrows contributed his full share in support of the Union 
cause by enlisting in Company H, Eighth Iowa Cavalry, with which he 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 3t.'5 

served until tlie close of hostilities. His regiment during the last year 
and a half of the war was part of General Ed McCook's cavalry divi- 
sion, which operated in Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi, and did 
effective service liy those rapid raids which gave the final strokes to the 
dying rebellion. 

After the restoration of peace Mr. Barrows located in Centerville 
and engaged in. business. About 1881 he became connected with news- 
paper w'ork, and seven years later took charge as proprietor of the 
lowegian, the leading Republican paper of .\ppanoose count}-. He was 
alone in the ownership for some years, but later his son, George Earl 
Barrows, was admitted into partnership and the paper has since been 
conducted under the firm name of Barrows & Barrows. It ranks among 
the strongest and most successful of the many prosperous county-seat 
newspapers in Iowa, and at all times and under all circumstances has 
been a true and able exponent of Republican principles. 

MATISON S. EDWARDS. 

The gentleman abo\e named is another member of the family whose 
record and achievements are fully noticed in the sketch of his elder 
brother. With the latter he constitutes the firm of Edwards Brothers, 
which for thirty-two years has 1)een actively engaged in buying, breed- 
ing, selling and shii)ping live stock of all kinds. Though his activities 
have been chiefly confined to the stock business, Mr. Edwards has been 
a moving spirit in other lines and quite prominent in political, religious 
and banking circles. He is certainly one of the leading men of the 
county and it would be taking little risk to set him down as also one of 
the most popular of the citizens of Appanoose. Mr. Edwards comes 



326 BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

naturally Ijy his fondness for stock and skill in its handling, as his 
father before him was an expert in this line and laid the foundation on 
which his enterprising sons ha\e built so successfully. \\'illiani Ed- 
wards, of Tennessee, removed in early manhood to Kentucky and mar- 
ried one of the attractive maidens of that state named Marilla Elliott. 
After this event the \i)ung couple "settled down to housekeeping," as 
they say in the cnuntr\-, and the father engaged in breeding and raising 
the stock for which old Kentucky has long been so famous. He did 
fairly well at the business, but concluded tliat by moving farther west 
he could do still better. With this end in view, he closed out his deals, 
converted his estate into money, loaded up his personal property and in 
the fall of 1850 started on the long journey to Iowa. The family ar- 
rived safely in Van Buren county, where they spent the first year, and 
then moxed on to Appanoose, which was destined to be the place of 
their permanent abode. The father purchased a farm five miles south 
of Moulton and soon was under way again in his favorite pursuit of rais- 
ing and selling live stock. Jle kept this uj) for about thirty years, 
during which time he did a great deal of business, made and lost consid- 
erable money, but on the whole came out on the right side of the ledger 
and as old age ai)prnached found himself in possession of a comfortable 
estate. E\entuariy he sought rest from active business by retirement 
at Moulton, where his death occurred in 1885, followed by that of his 
wife in February, 1902. 

Matison S. b^dwards. younger son of the afore-mentioned couple, 
was born in Laurel county. Kentucky, Ai)ril 11, 1850, and when six 
months old was an unconscious participant in his parents' journey to 
the west. He grew up on the farm near Moulton. where his father ini- 
tiate<l him into all tlie mysteries of breeding and selling stock with sue- 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 327 

cess, witli other innumerable and more or less important details con- 
nected with progressive agriculture. The boy proved an apt scholar 
and there was never a time in his subsequent life when it was easy to 
get the better of him in the price of a bunch of yearlings or the com- 
parative values of herds of "high grades" and roadsters. But young 
Edwards got a little schooling, too, as he went along and what he learned 
in the neighborhood schools was increased and improved by several 
vears" attendance at the Centerville Xormal. At length, studies finished 
and books laid aside, he was ready to take up his life work in earnest and 
at an early age was busily engaged in general farming and stock- 
raising. The culminating point in his career was reached in 1870, when 
he joined with his Ijrother \'\'illiam to make tTie celebrated firm of Ed- 
wards Brothers, which has long been one of the heaviest dealers in live 
stock in southern Iowa. The_\- ship carloads of hogs to Oltumwa and 
of cattle to Giicago eveiy week and their annual purchases and sales 
involve an amount of money which would astonish the average citizen. 
In addition to hogs and cattle, which constitute their main line, the 
firm also handles horses adapted to farm and road purposes and large 
numbers of these animals are disposed of at their monthly .sales. Re- 
gardless of an\- profit accruing io themselves, the Edwards Brothers 
deserve the name of public benefactors by reason of the benefit they have 
brought to the people in encouraging them to raise stock and furnishing 
them a home market for their products, .\side from his main pursuit 
Mr. Edwards has found time to lend his aid to other enterprises. When 
the Aloulton State Savings Bank was organized in 1902 through his aid 
and encouragement, lie was made one of the directors and also elected 
president. By way of diversion as well as Iiecause his convictions lead 
earnestiv in that direction. Mr. Edwartls has been in the habit of taking 



3-2S BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

a hand in politics when campaign times approach, and is recognized as 
one of the leaders on the Repulilican side. He is nothing of an office 
seeker, however, and is willing to let the "plums" go to others, his only 
official position being that of member of the board of supervisors, to 
which he was elected in 1892 for a term of three years. 

In 1870 Mr. Edwards was united in marriage with Miss Mattie 
W. Lane, who was born at Winchester, .\dams county, Ohio. March 2, 
185 1, but came to Iowa in girlhood, with her parents. By this union 
there were six children, but the only sin^vivors are Fred C. Edwards and 
Mrs. Ethel E. Votaw, with whom her father has resided at the corner 
of Maine and Bruadway since the loss of his wife by death, December 
26, 190 1. Though preferring a town residence Mr. Edwards owns a 
valuable and highly improved stock farm of three hundred and twenty 
acres one mile northeast of Mciultun. He is one of the leaders in the 
Methodist Episcopal church and holds fraternal connection with the 
Knights of Pythias and Rathljone Sisters. 

JOHN DONER. 

The lives of some men are simply told, They have been reared to 
one pursuit and ha\c followed this with unflagging industry flirough- 
out their active careers, perhaps in one locality, and their history must 
detail solid worth, devoid of the striking features that adorn the course 
of other men. .And there are those, equally successful, whose lines have 
been cast in both pleasant and unpleasant places, wlm have been 
switched from one track to the other and journeyed far from that calm 
starting point, so that it is often difficult for the subject himself to 
thread the devious ways by which he has arri\ed at his present destina- 




JOHN DONER. 



BIOGRAPHICAL A\W GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 331 

tion; sucli is the case witli tlic life of Mr John Doner, wlio. as one of 
Monroe county's popuhir officers and citizens, deserves an account in 
this work of personal history. 

Michael and Mary (Allen) Doner, the father and mother, were 
both born in Ireland and when past twenty years of age came to 
America, where they were married in Utica, New York; they resided 
here alxaut five years and then came to Elburn, Kane county, Illinois, 
which continued to be their home until 1888; in this year they removed 
to Marshalltown, Iowa, and both passed away here, Mrs. Doner dying 
in 1891 and her husband just one week later. In this country Mr. 
Doner followed railroading and for three years served in the Civil war 
in the One Hundred and Forty-sixth Illinois Infantry. 

Of the eight children, six boys and two girls, born to the abo\e 
parents, John Doner was the eldest and was born in the city of Utica, 
New York, March 8, 1848. He passed his early youth in Elburn, Illi- 
nois. He was just fourteen years old when the Civil war broke out, 
and fired by the spirit of patriotism he one day left the school room, ran 
away from home and coming to Chicago volunteered his services to the 
United States arm\- ; he was accepted and on June 9, 1862, was en- 
rolled in Company H, Sixty-ninth Illinois Infantry, from which he was 
discharged September 28, 1862, his term having expired. On January 
15, 1863, he re-enlisted in Battery D, First Illinois Light Artillery, 
under McAllister, and served in this company until the close of the 
war, being discharged July 28, 1865. He took part in the following 
well known conflicts : Port Gibson, Raymond, Jackson, Champion 
Hills, the siege of Vicksburg, Nashville and the Atlanta campaign. 
Being still in his 'teens when he returned home, he spent one year in 
school at his home town and then, following the example of his father, 



332 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

he began railroading; in 1867 lie entered the employ of the Chicago and 
Xorthwestern in the capacity of jjrakeman and the next year came into 
Iowa, braking for the same company from Dunlap to Council Bluffs. 
In 1870 he was promoted to the position of conductor, but in 1871 vol- 
untarily left that company and obtained a similar position with the Bur- 
lington and Missouri River Railroad in Iowa, running a train from 
Ottumwa to Creston ; in the fall of that year he became conductor on the 
Iowa Central from Albia to Northwood, in charge of a passenger train. 
In 1873 he suffered one of the many accidents that are incident to this 
dangerous calling and lost a hand, after which he retired from the busi- 
ness. During his last engagement he had made Albia his headcpiarters 
and he now made this his home. For four years he was a hotel clerk ; 
for three years was the editor and publisher of the .\lbia Democrat, 
which he then sold, and entered into the hotel and restaurant business. 
For four years he served as deputy sheriff under F. S. Miller, and in 
1884 he went west to McCook, Nebraska, and in Hayes county of that 
state he remained five years, in which time he proved up and worked a 
claim. On returning to Albia he was for three years deputy sheriff 
under C. M. Forrest and for the next three years was night watch- 
man. In 1895 Mr. Doner became the Populist candidate for sheriff of 
Monroe county, ami in the face of the strong oppt)sition of the Repub- 
lican and Democratic candidates overcame the majority and was elected. 
In 1897 he was the fusion choice for the place of the Democrats and 
the Populists and was successful, as also in 1899 and 1901, being four 
times elected in a Republican county. 

Mr. Doner is a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent 
and Protective Order of Elks and the Mystic Toilers. On .August 3, 
1874, in Albia, Mr. Doner was married to Miss .\nna Cramer, and they 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 333 

have one li\-in!j c]iild, ;i (laufiliter. Frances. Mr. Doner had a brotlier, 
Thomas, who was a soldier in the Ci\'il war. serving tlnxe months in the 
same company as his fatlier. and anotlier brother, Micliael, was on the 
flag-ship Pensacola of the United States navy, for tliree years; both 
these brothers are now dead. 



\\"1LLI.\M EDWARDS. 

The gentleman al)ove mentioned is perhaps the best known man in 
Appanoose connty. His fame chiefly rests vipon his acliie\cments as 
a breeder and dealer in stcKk. but he is one of those l)road-gauge men 
who are not content with one occupation, and he has figured conspicu- 
ouslv in lianking and re]igi<ius circles. His name has been rendered 
familiar all over southern Iowa and in adjacent stock markets by the 
firm of Edwartls Brothers, of which William is the senior member. 
Mail}- of the thousands of carloads of all kinds of stock which keep bus_\' 
the railroads leading from Iowa to Chicago are sent out by this enter- 
prising firm, whose yearly transactions foot up an enormous sum of 
money. By this traffic they liave been benefited themselves, but they 
have also greatly benefited the state b)- stinuilating the trade in stock, 
while imi>roving its quality. It is tu such men as these that Iowa owes 
its prominence in the world of agriculture, and to no two citizens is 
more credit due for this culmination than to the Edwards Brothers. 
This notaljle family is of southern origin. William Edwards, Sr., 
moved in early life from his native state of Tennessee to Kentucky, where 
he met and married Marilla I^lliott, with whom he migrated in 1850 to 
Iowa. The first year after this arrival was passed in Van Buren county, 
after which they settled permanently in Appanoose on a farm about 



334 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

five miles south of Moulton. Here for many years the head of tlie 
household carried on successful farming, with especial attention to live 
stock, a taste for dealing in wliich he had acquired in his "Old Ken- 
tucky home." Eventually, as the shadows began to lengthen and old 
age was felt to be creeping on, this estimable couple moved to town for 
the purpose of spending more agreeably their declining years. The 
closing scene occurred for the father in 1885, but his wife survived many 
years afterward and terminated her blameless life in 1902. 

William Edwards, namesake and eldest son of his father, was born 
in Laurel county. Kentucky, December 19, 1843, 'i"^ ^^'^^ about seven 
years old when his parents settled in Iowa. As he grew up he received 
from his father that training in farm management and stock dealing 
which proved so valuable to him in later life, and meantime obtained a 
fair education during desultory attendance in the schools of the town- 
ship and at Centerville. Young Edwards, though still in his "teens" 
when the Civil war began, was among the first to enlist, and served with 
steady gallantry for three years and eleven months as sergeant of Com- 
pany B. Second Regiment, Missouri Cavalry. He made an excellent 
record in the army and as soon as his honorable discharge was obtained 
returned without delay to his home in Iowa. Immediately thereafter 
he took up the work interrupted by the war and soon showed that he 
possessed a natural aptitude for the farm and all the various ramifica- 
tions of agricultural pursuits. His tastes as well as his talents seemed, 
however, to turn naturally to stock-raising and stock-selling, and in 
his branch of agriculture his success has been pre-eminently pro- 
nounced. In 1870 he formed a partnership with his brother, Matison 
S. Edwards, for the raising, buying and shipment of live stock, which 
firm now ranks anion"; the foremost of its kind in southern Iowa, 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 335 

While making a specialty of cattle and hogs, they have also dealt exten- 
sively in horses for the farm and road. It is hardly necessary to attempt 
to analyze the reasons for the success of this ixipnlar fraternal firm, in- 
asmuch as the causes lie close to the surface, in the shape of good judg- 
ment, untiring energ)- and an acquisition of the public confidence by 
constant fair dealing. That is the whole story in a nutshell. Every- 
body knows the Edwards Brothers; everybody likes them; everybody 
has confidence in them, and everybody trusts them. At present Mr. Ed- 
wards ow'ns, one-half mile from Moulton, three hundred and twenty 
acres of land, which is one of the best stock farms in the state. 

His residence in Moulton has long been celebrated for the gen- 
erous hospitality of its happy home circle and the family constitute a 
social center around which assemble all the brightest and best people 
of the vicinity. 

In 1867 Mr. Edwards was married to Mary A. Floyd, and the six 
of the nine children by this union now living are: Ulysses W., Mrs. 
Mae Tifft, wife of G. E. Tifft, a Methodist minister, stationed at ^loline, 
Kansas; Charles \V., Clyde V., Clarence F., and James H. The last 
tw^o mentioned are still at home and Clarence remains on the farm all 
the time, looking after the practical management of his father's widely 
diversified interests. In 1901 Mr. Edwards consummated a second 
marriage with Miss Maude May Taylor, who presides over his home 
with a grace and discretion that add much to its social charm. In many 
ways, aside from his main business, Mr. Edwards has proved himself a 
progressive, enterprising and ])ublic-spirited man. In 1902 he was one 
of the organizers of the Moulton State Savings Bank and holds the 
position of director of this popular institution. In religious circles he 
has also long been active, enforcing his views both by precept and prac- 



336 BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

tice. He contributed lil>erally to the funds for tlie construction of the 
handsome building- devoted to the services of tlie Methodist Episcopal 
church, of whicli he is a leading member. The fraternal connections 
of Mr. Edwards are confined to the Odd Fellows, with whom he has 
fraternized for over twenty-eight years, and associates with his old com- 
rades in the Grand Army of the Republic. 

MOSES Y. SELLERS. M. D. 

Tlie medical corps at Moulton includes the above named physician, 
who has been practicing there over thirty-three jears and has become 
thoroughly identified with the growth and progress of the place. 
Though a nati\e of Indiana Dr. Sellers has been a resident of Iowa 
nearly half a century and has done his share as a citizen to help forward 
the marvelous development which has characterized this state during 
that eventful period. The family is of Kentucky origin, his father, 
Nathan Sellers, having been born on a farm near Lexington in the first 
cjuarter of the nineteenth century. He married Mary Yowell, also a 
member of a Kentucky household, and with her moved to Indiana at an 
early period in the history of that state. He settled on a farm in Put- 
nam county and in after years rose to a position of prominence in that 
community, being elected treasurer of the county and otherwise hon- 
ored by his political associates. In 1854 he removed with his family to 
Iowa and located near Albia, county seat of Monroe, and there resumed 
his old occupation of tilling the soil. 

Moses Y. Sellers, next to the youngest of his father's eight chil- 
dren, was born near Greencastle, Indiana, August 5, 1839. and was a 
boy almost fifteen years old when the migration was made to Iowa. He 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 337 

assisted his father on the farm and attended school until lie readied liis 
majority, when he engaged in teaching, and followed that occupation 
for five years. During the year 1864 he spent some time at the Keokuk 
Medical College and after leaving that was engaged for four and a half 
years in the practice of medicine at Iconium. .\fterward he returned 
to the same institution at Keokuk, where he took a thorough course and 
was graduated in the class of 1880. Immediately thereafter he returned 
to his office at Moulton. and that town has ever since been the central 
point from which he prosecutes his professional labors. The Doctor 
is a memlier of the Des Moines Medical Association and the ]\Iedical 
Society of Wayne and Appanoose Counties. His religious affiliations 
are with tlie Christian church and his fraternal connections are confined 
to membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. ' 

May 14. 1867. Dr. Sellers was united in marriage with Sarah Cas- 
sia Stauber, who died in October. 1870, leaving two children, whose 
married names are Mrs. Lillie Alay Brunk and Mrs. Flora Effie Bradley. 
August 30. 1877. Dr. Sellers contracted a second marriage, his bride be- 
ing Elizabeth C. Tipton, who died leaving three children : Mrs. Jennie 
Bell Brunk, Maggie, and Earl D. Sellers, who is a medical student in the 
Louisville Medical College. Dr. Sellers contracted his third matrimon- 
ial alliance with Mrs. Ann Primm, a natix-e of Virginia, who came west 
with her parents in 1853. Mrs. Sellers is the daughter of Samuel Peek, 
who married Mary Hildreth, 1))- whom he had ten children : Elizabeth, 
Amelia, x\aron. Eli, Gusta\-us, .\lfred, Ann, Mack, Christopher Colum- 
bus, and Casandra. Of these children Christopher C. and Mrs. Sel- 
lers are the only ones living. Mrs. Sellers was married in Virginia to 
A. P. Primm and lived with him a few years near Lafayette, Indiana, 
after which the\' came to Greene countv, Iowa. Mrs. Primm's marriasfe 



338 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

to Dr. Sellers occurred at Lancaster, Missouri, in 1890, since which time 
she has presided over the household at Moulton with the dignity and 
grace of the experienced housekeeper. 

P. H. HYNES. 

One of the busiest, most energetic and progressive l)usiness men of 
Monroe county is P. H. Hynes of Avery, the secretary of the Smoky 
Hollow Coal Company, and in his official capacity he controls the opera- 
tions of six hundred men employed in the mines, besides a large number 
of bookkeepers and otiiers employed in clerical capacities. From a 
hunil)le financial position he has gradually worked his way upward 
through close application, unremitting diligence and honorable methods, 
and today occupies an enviable position as a leader of industrial interests 
in this part of Iowa, and his example is one well worthy of emulation. 

Mr. Hynes is a native of Champaign county, Ohio, born in 1865, a 
son of Patrick and Mary Hynes. His mother died in 1890. His 
father, who was born of Irish parentage, died in 1869. The son, P. H. 
Hynes, was reared in Keokuk county, Iowa, and his school privileges 
were supplemented by study at home and by knowledge gained in the 
school of experience. Possessing an observing eye and retentive mem- 
ory he has continually added to his knowledge until he has made it a 
potent factor in his successful business career. When a boy he began 
work in the coal fields in a humble way, but his earnest lator and close 
application won the attention of those who employed him and he was 
promoted from time to time. He lived successively in Lee county, Ma- 
haska and Monroe counties, and as the years passed gradually pro- 
gressed in the business world until for the past ten years he has filled the 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 339 

responsible position of secretary of tlie Smoky Hollow Coal Company, 
of whicli Air. E\-ans is the ])resi<lent. Mr. Hynes is virtually in con- 
trol of the business and his practical understanding of every department 
of coal mining from the time the shafts are sunk until the product is 
placed upon the market makes him splendidly qualified for the super- 
vision of the extensive interests of the companv. More than six hun- 
dred miners are emploxed. together with superintendents, bookkeepers 
and other clerks, and one thousand tons of coal are daily taken from 
the earth and prepared for distribution throughout the country. The 
company pays good wages, has done much for its men in providing 
comfortable homes, and the treatment of employes is always just and 
fair, so that the feeling is one of general satisfaction, and the men en- 
tertain genuine respect for the officers of the company. 

In 1894, in Monroe county. Mr. Hynes was married to Miss Mary 
Appleman. a lad\- whose many social qualities and intellectual worth 
have endeared her to those with wlmm she has been brought in con- 
tact. She was educated in this state and is a daughter of W. S. Apple- 
man, for many years a well known citizen of Avery. Mr. and Mrs. 
Hynes now have one son, P. H., Jr. 

In his political \iews Mr. Hvncs is a Republican and is regarded 
as one of the leading workers of the party in his town. He has fre- 
quently served as a delegate to party conventions and does all in his 
power to promote the growth and .secure the success oFtTre organiza- 
tion. Socially he is connected with the Knights of Pythias and the 
Modern Woodmen of .America. In manner he is genial, pleasant and 
easily approachable and always gives courteous attention to those who 
seek an audience with him in business hours, while in social circles he 
is known as a companionable and popular gentleman. He is also a 



340 BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

man of fine personal appearance, being six feet in height and well pro- 
portioned. He has in Avery a beautiful home, furnished with many 
evidences of refined taste and culture. He is widely known in busi- 
ness, social and political circles in the state, and has high standing, be- 
cause of his strong personality, his unquestioned integrity and sterling 
manhood. 



THOM.VS WALLACE. 

This venerable man, now in the eighty-first year of his age, was 
one of the first settlers of Appanoose county, where he has lived consid- 
erably over half a century. His farm, consisting originally of ninety 
acres, was all wild land when he bought it and with the exception of 
thirteen acres every inch of it was cleared by Mr. \\'allace, as the result 
of many a hard blow and many years of wearisome lalx>r. In fact, his 
whole life, from childhcxxl up, has been one of almost unremitting toil, 
and up to a year ago he might still be seen in his fields "holding a row" 
with the best of them. Though quiet and unassuming, Mr. W^allace is 
a man of great worth and real nobility of character and in his unpre- 
tentious way has contributed to the development which has placed Iowa 
at the lead of all the agricultural states of the Union. 

He is a son of Solomon and Millie Wallace and was born in Kenr 
county, Delaware, December 14. 1822. The death of his father when 
he was still in early childhood brought upon him that fate so much 
dreaded, the necessity of becoming a "bound boy" as the only means of 
obtaining a livelihood. Such a life at best is not enviable, but Mr. 
Wallace seems to have fallen into fairly good hands when apprenticed 
to one \\'illiam Hollingsworth. a seafaring man who lived in Kent 



BIOGRAI'llICAL AXP GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 341 

county, Delaware. This individual was cai)tain of a sailing boat and it 
was tlie business of little Thomas to cook for llie crew, while incidentally 
engaged in mastering the details of the sailor's trade. This drudgery 
continued four years, at the end of which time the boy was taken by his 
master to Fayette county, Indiana, where he was fortunate enough to 
find an uncle, who furnished him a home. He remained with his uncle 
Joshua one year, during which time he worked on the farm all week 
and hauled logs on Sunday. At the expiration of his time on this place 
the boy had completed the thirteenth year of his age and during the ten 
following years was engaged as a farm hand bv the month on dififer- 
ent places in that part of Indiana. In 1845 he was married to Eliza 
Barkley and spent the next two years on the farm of his wife's father, 
in Fa)-ette count\-, Indiana. In the fall of 1847 he remo\-ed with his 
wife and child to Davis county, Iowa, where he remained five months 
and then made what proved to be his final move to Appanoose county. 
He arrived in March. 1S48. and immediately took possession of the 
farm of one hundred and sixty acres which has ever since been his place 
of residence. Here he busied himself for some years getting his land 
in shape for cultivation, until his household afifairs were disarranged by 
the loss of his wife, who died in the early part of 1856, lea\ing five 
children. These, in order of birth, were George, now a resident of But- 
ler county, Kansas : James, of the same section ; Mrs. Sarah Ankrom, 
who has since died: Jasper, who li\-es in Custer county, Xcl)raska : and 
Lewis, who resides near his father's homesteacl. 

On August 7, 1856, Mr. Wallace tcKjk a second wife in the person 
of Lydia Croxton, who died December 28, 1888, leaving seven children: 
Mrs. Margaret E. Gordf)n ; John, of Davis county, Iowa; Francis M., 
of Butler county, Kansas: Warren. f)f Centerxille, Iowa: Washington 



342 BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

H., of Davis county; Mary J., of Appanoose county: and Mrs. Minerva 
C. Bean, of Fort Madison. On March 31, 1890. Mr. Wallace contracted 
his third matrimonial alliance with Mrs. Xancy J. Howell, who came in 
childhood to Iowa with her parents from Roanoke county, Virginia. 
By her first marriage she had one child, Mr. A. A. Howell, who is now 
proprietor of the Howell House at Moulton. ]\Ir. Wallace is a de- 
voted member of the Christian church and for a long time performed 
the functions of preacher during the absence of the regular pastor. As 
he has occupied his present homestead for fifty-four years he is probably 
entitled to rank as the oldest continuous resident of Appanoose county. 
His place contains a curious relic of the olden times in the shape of a 
log cabin which was the first building ever located in Appanoose 
county, having been remoxed there from the nearby county of Davis. 

THOMAS BENTOX McDONALD. 

.Among the worthy citizens of Monroe county who have come to 
this locality irom Indiana is Thomas Benton McDonald, who was born 
in Liberty, Union county, in the Hoosier state, December 6, 1846. He 
comes of Irish lineage, his father, Bernard McDonald, having been born 
in county Carlow, Ireland, whence he crossed the Atlantic to America. 
The paternal grandfather was Edwin Lawrence McDonald, M. D., who 
on reaching years of maturity wedded a Miss Camel and among their 
children was a son to whom they gave the name Bernard. The latter 
was a sailor in early life, following the sea for some years. Taking 
up his abode in this country, he wedded Elizabeth Hea\enridge, a na- 
tive of Virginia, and in 1840 he retired from the sea in order that he 
might devote his energies to farming, which occupation he followed 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 343 

until 1888, when he put aside l)usiness cares entire!}'. He was born 
in 1808. took up his abode in this country in 1840 and is now living a 
retired life in Fairmount, Indiana, at the very advanced age of ninety- 
five years. His wife passed away in 1865. The children of their fam- 
ily were: Thomas B. ; Emeline, deceased; Edwin; Lawrence, who has 
also passed away; John, Frank, Elizabeth and Jemima. 

Thomas B. McDonald spent his early days in Indiana and attended 
the public schools there. When he became a young man he began 
learning the trade of a s]iinner anti after a year spent in that way he 
secured employment with a millwright. In 1867 he began railroading 
on the Pan Handle system, first acting as a brakeman, while later he 
was promoted to the position of conductor. When he had been with 
the Pan Handle road for a year he left Indiana and reiuoved to Ne- 
braska, where he secured a i)osition as conductor on the Midland & 
Pacific Railroad, running between Nebraska City and Lincoln. In 
1871 he began work on the Burlington as conductor and contiiuied in 
that capacity until 1879. when he retired altogether from railroad work. 
He then came to Lovilia, Iowa, and with the capital he had acquired 
through his own labors and economy began merchandising. He is to- 
day the leading merchant of the town and his efiforts have been largely 
instrumental in the ui)bui]ding and improvement of this place. He car- 
ries a large and well selected line of general goods, and because of his 
correct business policy and earnest desire to please his customers is ac- 
corded a liberal patronage. On the loth of December, 1890, he es- 
tablished a private bank, which is known as the Lovilia Exchange and 
which has become a leading financial institution in this part of the 
county. Its present officers are T. !'>. McDonald, president ; O. L. 
Wright, vice president; and Jerry Wilcox, cashier. 



344 BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

On the 25th of January. 1878, occurred the marriage of Mr. Mc- 
Donald and Mrs. Sarali J. Wilcox, a widow, and a daughter of Joseph 
Patterson. Her parents were residents of Baltimore. Maryland. Mrs. 
McDonald is an estimable lady, holding memljershi]) in the Methodist 
Episcopal church of Lovilia and her friends in the community are many. 
Mr. McDonald, however, is an adherent of the Episcopalian faith, and 
fraternally is connected with the Masonic order, belonging to Lodge No. 
269, F. & A. M., Clinton Chapter No. 16. R. A. M., and the Malta Com- 
mandery, K. T. He is an exemplary member of the craft, true to its 
beneficent teachings. Mr. McDonald started out upon his business 
career without capital, and the success that he has achieved is entirely 
due to his own efforts. He may well be termed a self-made man. for 
he has placed his dependence upon his own industry, unremitting dili- 
gence and perse\erance and these ha\e ])ro\ed the foundation upon 
which he has Ijuildcd the superstructure of his jjrosjjerty. 



JOHN CHAMBERLAIN. 

When death comes to any one it is customary to review the life 
record and note whether it has been for good or ill. Favorable indeed 
is the judgment which has been passed upon John Chanil)crlain. who 
for seventy-fi\e years traxeled life's journe\-. performing faithfully and 
well every duty which devohed upon him and meeting fully every obli- 
gation that rested u])nn him. His example, therefore, is commendable 
and worthy of emulation, and his life history deserves a place on the 
pages of this volume among those of the representative citizens of ^bm- 
roe county. 

Mr. Chamberlain was born in Ashland count v. 01ii(^. March j8, 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 345 

1827. and was a son of James and Sarali (Peterson) Chamberlain, both 
of whom were natives of Virginia, whence they removed to the Buckeye 
state, setthng there at a pioneer epoch in its history. A farmer by occu- 
pation, the fatlier followed that pursuit throughout his entire life, culti- 
vating his fields from year to year in order to provide for his family, 
which in the course of time came to number ten children. These were: 
John, now deceased; Mary, Josiah, James. Henry, Washington, Eliza- 
beth, who has also passed away; Abraham, Weed, and William, de- 
ceased. The father was called to his final rest in 1882, at the age of 
seventy-five years, and the mother reaching the advanced age of eighty- 
nine vears, her death occurring in 1898. 

John Chamberlain lived in Ohio until twenty-two years of age, his 
bo)'hood being passed in a manner similar to that of most farmer lads 
of the period. When school was in session and his services were not 
needed on the farm he there pursued his studies, but during the months 
of summer he assisted in the work of the fields, plowing, planting and 
harvesting, all farm work becoming familiar to him ere he left home. 
The year 1847 witnessed his arrival in the new state of Iowa and he 
took up his abode in Eddyville. Four years later, on the 29th of June. 
1S51. he was joined in wedlock to Miss Sarah Bredwell, a daughter of 
John and Elizabeth Bredwell. Her mother died when Mrs. Chamber- 
lain was but three years old, but her father long survived, passing away 
about 1872. In 1842 Mrs. Chamberlain and her brother came to Iowa, 
locating in Eddyville, and in Monroe county she has since made her 
home. She was born March 20, 1834, and at the age of seventeen she gave 
her h.-md in marriage to Mr. Chamberlain, with whom she traveled life's 
journey long and happily. For the past forty years she has resided 
upon her present farm, the location being made here shortly after their 



346 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

marriage. As the years passed several cliildren came to bless the house- 
hold, namely: Annis and Rachel Ann, both deceased; Sarah Elizabeth; 
Edward; Henry; John; Otis; Minnie, W'illin. William, all three de- 
ceased; and Ida. 

Throughout his entire married life Mr. Chamberlain followed farm- 
ing and carpentering. He kept everything about his place in good con- 
dition, exercised care and thought in planting his fields and harvesting 
his crops, and the annual sale of his farm products returned to him a 
good income. The home place is pleasantly located west of Lovilia. 
In his political views Mr. Chamberlain was a Democrat and for many 
years served as a school director and a member of the school board. 
He believed in progress in education as in other lines and was anxious 
to have good schools and competent teachers. In his younger years he 
belonged to the Baptist church, but afterward united with the Christian 
church, with which he held memliership until his death. For many 
years he was also identified with the Masonic fraternity and was a 
faithful follower of its teaching concerning brotherly kindness and 
helpfulness. He died on the home farm, September i6, 1902, at the 
age of seventy-five years, and his remains were laid to rest in the Os- 
born cemetery. JNIrs. Chamberlain is still residing at home and she, 
too, is a loyal member of the Christian church, whose teachings and prin- 
ciples she has made the guide of her life. 



JAMES M. CASTNER. 

James M. Castner, who is engaged in the hardware and implement 
business in Lovilia, has been a representative of mercantile interests in 
this place for a number of years, and is an enterprising man, who might 



BIOGRAPHICAL A\D GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 347 

well be termed a "captain of industry" because of his indefatigable labor 
and successful control of every work he has undertaken. Far back into 
the early history of Pennsylvania can his family history be traced. In 
1766 his ancestor entered from the government the land upon which 
James M. Castner was lx)rn, and the old house is still in the possession 
of his descendants. Six generations of the Castners have been born 
upon that land, and the town of Donora, Pennsylvania, has been built 
upon a portion of it. Daniel and Rebecca (Miller) Castner, the parents 
of our subject, were both natives of the Keystone state, and the former, 
a farmer by occupation, de\'oted his energies throughout his entire life 
to the tilling of the soil. His political support was given the Democracy 
and he was ever a citizen of worth, giving his co-operation to every 
measure which he believed would benefit his locality. He died in 1875, 
and his wife, survi\'ing him twent}'-one years, passed away in 1896. In 
their family were twelve children : Martin Van Buren, Maria E., James 
M., John K., Silas W., Jessie M., Bert W., Mary J., Wilbert F. and 
William L., and two that died in infancy. 

Upon tlie ancestral homestead in Washington county, Pennsylvania, 
James M. Castner was born, February 11, 1843, and was there reared, 
while in the common schools of the neighborhood he received his educa 
tion. Lessons of industry and integrity were early impressed upon his 
mind by his parents, and through the periods of vacation he gained 
practical knowledge of farm work l))- assisting his father in the fields. 
At the age of twenty-four he left his boyhood home and in 1868 became 
a resident of Blufi' Creek township, Monroe county, where he followed 
farming for about six years. In 1874 he took up his abode in Lovilia, 
where he has since resided. In 1875 he established a lumber and grain 
business, which he conducted with success until 1894, when he sold out 



348 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

to the Green Bay Lumber Company, and he is now conducting a hard- 
ware and implement business. He is well known as a factor in the 
business life of Lovilia and after embarking in his new enterprise it was 
not long before he had secured a liberal patronage, which is constantly 
growing, so that the business has already assumed profitable propor- 
tions and the future of the enterprise seems a bright one. 

In 1866 Mr. Castner was united in marriage to Miss Helen Pollock, 
a native of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and to them were born 
three children, two sons and a daughter, but Bert P., the eldest, is the 
only one now living', Mary Josephine and John Kerr having passed 
away. The wife and motlier died in 1874 and in 1876 Mr. Castner 
was again married, his second union being with Miss Rose Clark, a 
daughter of P. R. Clark. Five children have graced this union : Guy 
Kerr, Katheryn, Anna, Louis and James Miller. 

A staunch Republican, Mr. Castner exercises his right of franchise 
in support of its men and measures, and has labored effectively for its 
success in this community. He has been honored with some local offi- 
ces, having served as school director, as justice of the peace and as a 
member of the board of supervisors and his official labors resulted bene- 
ficially along the lines directed. Both he and his wife are members of 



the Methodist Episcopal church, and in his fraternal relations he is con- 
nected with the Masons, the Odd Fellows and the United Workmen, 
holding membership in the local lodges in Albia. Starting out in life 
for himself without capital, and realizing that there is no royal road to 
wealth, Mr. Castner has labored diligently and unremittingly in an ef- 
fort to attain prosperity, and toda\' is accounted one of the substantial 
citizens of his adopted town, while his social qualities are those which 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 349 

will friends, aiul \vhere\cr known Mr. Castner is spoken of in terms of 
high resrard. 



NATHANIEL McCLOUD. 

This well-known farmer of Tavlor township became a resident of 
Appanoose county, Iowa, in 1864. He has, therefore, been identified 
with its agricultural interests for almost forty years, although he did 
not locate upon his present farm until .April, 1901. He was born in 
Highland county, \'irginia, April 4, 1841, the same year in which King 
Edward of England was born. He belongs to a family noted for in- 
dustry, honesty, morality and courage. His ancestors came originally 
from the highlands of Scotland, being- descended from McCloud, a 
Scottish chief, who was prominent in tlie wars of that country two hun- 
dred years ago. His grandfather, Nathaniel McCloud, was also a native 
of the Old Dominion, as was also his wife Margaret McMahan, who 
was of Irish lineage. 

Nathaniel McCloud, Sr., was a soldier of the war of 18 12. He 
received a land warrant calling for one hundred and sixty acres of gov- 
ernment land for his services. Not hax'ing a disposition to farm, after 
having the land warrant in his possession for thirty or forty years he 
traded it for a horse valued at about seventy-five dollars. He never was 
the owner of any real estate, but spent his life in hunting wild game in 
the Cheat and Allegheu)' mountains. At the age of three-score and ten 
years he died in Pocahontas county. West \'irginia, at the hoiue of his 
youngest daughter, Mrs. Mahala Jackson. 

Their son, George Riley McCloud, father of our subject, was Ixirn 
and reared in Virginia. In early life he wedded Miss Mary J. Warner, 



350 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

a native of Pendleton county, that state. Her parents were James and 
Jane Warner of \'irginia, where they spent their entire hves. Tlie 
Warners were a well known and prominent family of that state. Two 
of its representatives became distinguished ministers of the gospel. 
George \\'^arner was a member of the Methodist Church South. He 
moved from Pendleton county to Fayette county. West \'irginia, where 
he married and spent the remainder of his life. He died during the 
war of the Rebellion at an old age. Zebedee. a nephew of the Rev. 
George Warner and a first cousin of the subject of this sketch, was a 
minister of the United Brethren Church of Christ, one of its most noted 
members. He held the degree of LL.D. He was the presiding elder of 
Clarksburg district, West Virginia, during the war. During his elder- 
ship he had a discussion with the editor of the standard church paper, 
published at Dayton. Ohio. Warner took the position that the discipline 
would have to be changed on the subject of secret organizations ; that 
the members should have the right to exercise their own judgment as to 
the teachings of the Bible on the subject of secret orders. Since that 
time the rules of the church have been changed, thus showing that 
Warner's position was right. He died in Nebraska at about the age of 
fifty, \vhile serving as a missionary. Z. Warner was married near 
Boonesville, Maryland, September ii, 1856, to Sarah C. Snively, who 
survives him and makes her home at Parkersburg, West Virginia. To 
them were born nine children, seven of whom are still li\'ing. 

With team and wagon George R. McCloud, X. McCloud and fam- 
ilies came to Iowa in 1864, settling in Chariton township, Appanoose 
county, where George R. followed farming the remainder of his life, 
dying there at the age of sixty years. He was a Democrat in politics. 
He had been a member of the Christian church for a number of vears, to 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 351 

the time of his death. His widow still survives him, having reached 
the advanced age of eighty-five years. Of the twelve children ten 
reached the age of maturity, namel}' : William E., who died in York, 
Nebraska, June ii, 1902; Nathaniel, of this review; George; Nancy 
J., deceased ; Elizabeth ; Susan ; Asa ; Amanda ; Henry ; and Anna. 
Under the parental roof Nathaniel McCloud passed the days of his 
boyhood and youth, assisting his father in the operations of farming 
when not in school. At the age of nineteen years he was married at 
Harper's Ferry, Virginia, September 20, i860, to Miss Rachel J. Tom- 
linson, both of Highland county, Virginia, his wife being a daugh- 
ter of Zacariah and Huldah Tomlinson, who made their home 
there throughout life. She was third in order of birth in a 
family of five children, the others being Henry, Sarah Ann, Hester, 
and Mary, two of whom are now residents of Kansas ; the 
brother Henry lives in Oklahoma, and the other sister lives in Vir- 
ginia. As previously stated, N. McCloud came to Iowa in 1864 and 
cast his first vote at Moravia, Iowa. The first land he purchased was 
in Chariton township, in 1870. After securing one hundred and fifty 
acres of land near Maine station, he remained a resident of that neigh- 
borhood till 1901. He was the promoter of the postoffice known as 
Maine and served as postmaster during 1887. He afterwards had the 
name of the postoffice changed to that of Ray in honor of his eldest son. 
He and family, with many others, were in a cyclone which passed over 
their home on the evening of May 5, 1894. The cyclone began about 
six miles west of the home of this family and swept away all the build- 
ings in its path for a distance of many miles, taking away all the out- 
buildings of this famih', leaving the dwelling, but moving it from the 
foundation. The family took refuge in a cave. Only one person — Mrs. 



352 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

William AIcDanel — was killed in this storm, but a number of others 
were seriously injured. 

William E. McCloud, alx)ve mentioned, the eldest brother of the 
subject of this sketch, came to Iowa at the age of seventeen years. At 
the age of nineteen he married ^liss Ann M. Sears of Taylor township. 
He followed the occupation of farming some years, but later in life was 
an extensive stock shipper, at one time being in partnership with Captain 
E. Cummins in the shipping business, and afterwards was a partner 
of R. M. Hicks. After moving to York, Nebraska, Mr. McCloud en- 
gaged in the commission business in the stock-yards at Omaha ; was 
also one of the organizers of the bank at Waco, Nebraska. His son, 
C. A. McCloud, and nephew of the subject, is now engaged in the real 
estate and insurance business at York, Nebraska. He is very prominent 
in the county in Republican party politics, and is among the wealthiest 
citizens of his county. 

Mrs. Rachel J. JSIcCloud died March 12, 1883, having lived a num- 
ber of years as a faithful and consistent member of the United Brethren 
church, leaving one daughter, now Mrs. R. H. Raster, of Chariton town- 
ship. On June 15, 1884. our subject was again married, his second 
union being to Mrs. !Mary J. Breese, widow of Timothy Breese, de- 
ceased. Timothy Breese was a member of the Eighth Iowa Cavalry. 
He was born in Ohio, but reared in Lee county, Iowa, dying near 
Iconium, Iowa, December 15, 1880, holding membership in the Chris- 
tian church at the time of his death. He left three surviving sons : 
Alpha A., by a former wife; Mary Hazlewood; and Ira E., now of 
Chicago, Illinois. One son, Everett, died at the age of four months. 

By the union of Nathaniel and Mary J. iNIcCloud were born four 
children, three of whom are now living — Alta, Rav and Irl, Fannie 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. -353 

having died in infancy at tlie age of twelve months. Mrs. McCloud. 
the present wife, was born in Putnam county, Indiana, November 8, 
1850, near Greencastle. She was a daugliter of James and Anise Nich- 
olson, formerly Anise Brewer. Her father was a farmer by occupation ; 
also a brickmason. He brought his family to Iowa in i860 and located 
near Iconium and died in 1875 at the age of sixty-two years. His politi- 
cal support was given to the Republican part}-, and he was an active 
member of the Methodist church, in which he served as class leader for 
a number of years. His wife, who was also an earnest member of the 
same church, was born in North Carolina and died in Monroe county, 
Iowa, Februar}- 10, 1896, at the age of seventy-eight years. To James 
and Anise Nicholson were born thirteen children, as follows : Edna, 
Martha, Melvina, Nancy, Mary J., John; F.phraim. and Hannah, de- 
ceased. The others died in infancy. Ei>hraim enlisted in the Thirty- 
sixth Infantry, Iowa Volunteers, and served until the close of the war. 
He died at Duvall's Bluff of smallpox just after the remainder of his 
company were mustered out of the service. 

In March, 1901, N. McCloud purchased the Jefferson Turner farm 
of one hundred and forty acres in Taylor township, where he now re- 
sides. This farm is located on the Albia and Centerville wagon road, 
one mile south of IMoravia. On this farm is a two thousand dollar 
house and brick cellar. The lawn is adorned with pine, cedar and other 
shade trees, and there is a good orchard and a large pond well stocked 
with fish. In fact, it is one of the most attractive and desirable farms 
of its size in the county. In addition to the raising of grain, Mr. Mc- 
Cloud raises and feeds stock for market and has found this branch of 
his business quite profitable. The Democratic party finds in Mr. 
McCloud a stanch supporter of its principles. He has always taken an 



354 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

active interest in public affairs. Both he and his wife are connected 
with the Methodist church and are people of refinement and culture, who 
make friends wherever they go. 

Ira E. Breese, before mentioned, the stepson of our subject, made 
his home at the home of X. McCloud from June 15, 1884, till the spring 
of 1895. Then, to get better school facilities, he went to Shenandoah and 
attended Western Normal College. From there, in September, he went 
to Ouincy, Illinois, and attended the Gem City Business College and 
graduated from there in the shorthand course in April, 1897. He en- 
listed May 27, 1898, in the United States navy and was discharged 
September 30, 1898. During his service in the navy he was at New- 
York, Brooklyn, Norfolk, Hampton Roads and Key West, returning 
by way of Philadelphia and Chicago. He is at present engaged with 
the American Railway Guide Company as stenographer, with excellent 
chances for promotion. 



JOHN KNOWELS. 

John Knowels is a retired farmer of Appanoose county, who from 
an early period in the development of this portion of the state has re- 
sided in the county. For many years he followed agricultural pursuits, 
but has now put aside business cares to enjoy a well earned rest and 
his comfortable competence, which has been acquired through untiring 
energy and perserverance. 

A native of Ohio, Mr. Knowels was born in Holmes county, that 
state, on May 4, 1818; a son of John and Hester Knowels. In the 
state of his nativity he was reared and educated, his boyhood days being 
quietly passed and unmarked by any event of special importance. At- 




JOHN KKOWBLS. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 357 

tracted by the opportunities of tlie growing west he came to Van Buren 
county, Iowa, in 1840, and took up his alx)de in Appanoose county, 
where lie has since made his Iiome. In tliat year he was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Martiia Jackson, a native of Ohio, born in tlie same year 
in which her husband's birth occurred. They became tlie parents of 
eight children, one of wiiom is now deceased. After the death of his 
first wife Mr. Knowels was again married, his second union being with 
Eva Jane McKern, whom he wedded in 1877. She is still living with 
him, and they have four children. 

On locating in this county, Mr. Knowels took up his abode upon a 
farm and began to till his fields and harvest his crops, keeping in touch 
with the advanced methods of farming which were introduced and 
proved of practical value in the w-ork of cultivating and improving his 
place. He was thus engaged when the country became involved in 
Civil war. A loyal advocate of the Union cause, during the progress of 
the war he felt that his first dut}- was to his country, and he enlisted 
as a member of Company I, Third Iowa Cavalry, with which he went to 
the front. In 1862, in the midst of battle, he was wounded by a bullet 
in the left leg, just below the knee, and because of the injury he receives 
a pension from the government. Age would have exempted him from 
military service had he so desired, but his patriotic devotion to his 
country led him to join the army, and in days of peace he has been 
equally patriotic and quick to respond to liis country's needs. One ot 
the results of his war ser\ice was a change of name. His name was 
originally spelled Nowels, and the family still spell it so, but when Mr. 
Nowels's description roll was made when he entered the amiy the name 
was put down Knowels, and he has since continued it so himself. 

Mr. Knowels went to the army as a Democrat, but his political 



358 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

views changed during the progress of the war, and he returned a Re- 
pubhcan and has since been most loyal to the party and its principles; 
but he is not strictly partisan and regards always the capability of the 
candidate as well as the party to which he belongs. Mr. Knowels is a 
third degree Mason and a charter member of Antiquity Lodge No. 252, 
F. & A. M. For eighty-four years he has traveled the journey of life, 
during which time he has witnessed many changes in the world of 
progress and has seen his country advance to take a proud position 
among the leading countries of the world. He is still interested in 
what is going on, and is an entertaining, companionable old gentleman, 
who can relate many interesting events concerning the pioneer history 
of Appanoose county and the early days during which he took up his 
abode here to become an active factor in agricultural circles. 



JOSEPH C. McELHANEY. 

Joseph C. McElhancy is today one of the prosperous agriculturists 
and enterprising business men of Monroe county. There is no rule for 
achieving success, yet certain elements are always found in a prosperous 
career, and these are tireless energy and keen business perception, both 
of which are manifested in tlie career of Mr. McElhaney, who is now 
controlling extensive and important interests lx)th in Monroe county 
and in other sections of the country. He is a native of Hancock 
county, Ohio, his birth having occurred there January 21, 1853, his par- 
ents being Isaac and Sarah Jane (Reddick) ]\IcElhaney. His father 
was born in Pennsylvania and was of Scotch-Irish descent, while the 
mother was a native of Columbiana county, Ohio. Durnig his residence 
in the Buckeye state, Isaac McElhaney followed the cooper's trade, but 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 359 

after his removal tn Iowa he abandoned indnstrial interests in order to 
give Iiis attention to agricultnral pnrsuits. The year 1865 witnessed 
his arri\al in this state and he took up his aliode in Guilford township, 
Monroe county, where he made his home for ten years, and then re- 
moved to Union township, where his remaining days were passed. As 
every true American citizen should do, he kept well informed on all 
political questions affecting the welfare of his county, state and nation, 
and his belief in the principles of Democracy led him to cast his ballot 
for its nominees. Both he and his wife were devoted members of the 
United Presbyterian church and took an active part in its work, liij 
death occurred on the igtli of March, 1891, when he had reached the 
age of seventy-five years and seven months, and his widow is still liv- 
ing, making her home with the suljject of this review. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Isaac McElhaney were born eight children, five of whom are yet living, 
namely: Mary J., Margaret C, Mattie, Cynthia and Joseph C. Those 
who have passed away are David R., who was the eldest; Irvin Presley; 
and Dora, who. was the youngest of the family. 

Joseph C. McElhaney lived in Ohio until he had reached the age of 
nine years, when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Iowa. 
He accjuired his early education in the public schools and when sixteen 
years of age took up the study of geology, which he mastered and then 
began prospecting for coal in the employ of different companies. He 
has done prospecting work in Missouri, Kansas and Iowa, and has been 
instrumental in locating several coal beds which have yielded excellent 
returns. He is today the owner of a fine and valuable farm of three 
hundred and sixty-six acres of Iowa's rich soil, located just north of 
Lovilia, and r}f this two hundred acres is under cultivation, being planted 
with cereals best adapted to the climate. The remainder of the farm is 



3»;0 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

pasture land and Mr. McElhaney is successfully engaged in raising and 
dealing in stock, his annual sales from animals bringing to him a good 
return. He has resided upon his present farm for fifteen years, living 
with his mother and his two sisters, Maggie and Cynthia. Mr. Mc- 
Elhaney is a man of excellent business ability, resourceful and far- 
sighted and he has not confined his attention entirely to one line. At 
the present time he is extensively interested in rice growing and has a 
tract of land of ten thousand acres in Texas, of which forty-five hun- 
dred acres are now planted to rice. He has been interested in rice pro- 
duction since 1899 and believes it to be one of the country's profitable 
crops. 

Mr. McElhaney is a member of the Pioneers' Association and at 
the recent meeting held in Lovilia he served as officer of the day. He 
is honored and respected by all, not only on account of the success he has 
achieved, but also because of the honorable, straightforward business 
policy he has ever followed. In his Inisiness affairs he has never taken 
advantage of the necessities of his fellow men, but has been fair and just 
in all transactions, and his prosperity is the legitimate outcome of care- 
ful discernment in business and of unremitting diligence. 

JAMES HIBBS. 

Among the many worthy and esteemed residents of Appanoose 
county who make up the farming class, and by their substantial citizen- 
ship and progressive ideas ha\e made the county one of the foremost 
agricultural sections of the state, is Mr. James Hibbs, who now resides 
in Numa, but for many years served in an official position, was active 
in the mercantile business, and also as a leading farmer. 

His ])arents were Mahlon N. and Elizabeth (Hurst) Hibbs, who 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 361 

were both natixes of Tennessee, and wlien young were taken liy tlicir 
parents to Putnam county. Indiana, where they were married. Mr. 
Hibbs was a hfelong farmer. In 1847 '^^ came to Iowa witli liis family 
and located in Wapello county, and there he died about 1850. Shortly 
afterward his wife, with her children, moved to Appanoose county and 
located on a farm two miles south of what was known as Hibbsville, 
where Mrs. Hibbs died. 

James Hibbs, the immediate subject of this sketch, was the eldest 
of eight children, six of whom are still living. He was born in Putnam 
county, Indiana, April 15. 1826. Pie early displayed the energy and 
honesty of purpose which have charactertized his entire career, and not 
only was he successful in his private affairs, but entered heartily into 
any enterprise directed toward the common good. When he, with his 
mother and family, settled in Appanoose count)', he was instrumental 
in having a post(jflice estaloiished near their farm, and in his honor it 
was named Hibbsville. Dr. Hall, now deceased, was the first postmaster 
of this place, but after his incumbency Mr. Hibbs was appointed to 
the office and conducted it in connection with a general store until 1901, 
when the postoffice was abolished. Mr. Hibbs still owns the old farm 
south of Hibbsville, but makes his home in Numa. 

In 1856 Mr. Hibbs was married to Martha E. Cooley, who is a 
native of Indiana, and was born in 1840. \^^^en only six months old 
she came west with her parents and lias since made her home in this 
county. Mr. and Mrs. Hibbs became the parents of eight children, of 
whom six are now living: Mahlon E., James W., Mrs. Martha Farmer, 
George. Mrs. Nancy Jane Ellis and Samuel. This family hold a very 
influential position in the social and business life of their community and 
justly cnnunand the high regard of many friends and acquaintances. 



362 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

JOHN S. BOARDMAX. 

The subject of this sketch lias had a career extending over a period 
of many years whicli may justlv be descrilsed as archious, adventurous 
and hazardous. The first portion covered tlie period of the Civil war, 
during which Mr. Boardman saw much hard service and fighting, and 
made a most creditable record. Leaving the army, he entered a service 
whose risks and dangers are second only to those of war, and as a 
"railroader" endured hardships in many different states and in the em- 
ployment of many different corporations. Added together, his army 
and railroad service extended from the early sixties to 1898, nearly 
forty years, and none will en\'y him the repose he is now enjoying after 
a life of such strenuous labor and exciting experiences. His father, 
Levi Boardman, was a native of New York state, who followed milling 
in early life and devoted his last years to farming. He married Minerva 
Monroe, who came from Scotland with her parents in childhood and 
grew up in Genesee county. New York. This union, which continued 
in utmost conjugal harmony until severed 'by the death of Mr. Board- 
man in 1866, resulted in the birth of eight children, of whom only two 
are now living. 

John S. Boardman, youngest of his father's surviving children, 
was born in Pennsylvania, January 17, 1843, '^'''d ^^''^s prevented by 
poor health in childhood from obtaining more than the mere rudiments 
of an education. When fourteen years old he began driving a stage 
between Columbus, Pennsyh-ania, and Jamestown, New York, but soon 
abandoned this job for employment in tiie oil fields of Crawford county, 
Pennsylvania. Sulisequently he was engaged for four years as a stage 
driver between Tilus\ille and L'liion, Pennsylvania, and during this 
time also had charge of several teams. This monotonous and unexcit- 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 363 

ing employment was terminated 1\v that mighty event whicli clianged 
the current of S(^ many million lives, and altered the very course of 
history itself. The outhreak of the Civil war found young Boardman 
in his eighteenth year, and full of the fiery patriotism that inspired 
every spirit in those troublous times. His feelings found vent by enlist- 
ment in Company B, Twelfth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Cav- 
alry, with which he went promptly to the front and took part in the 
opening scenes of the great drama along the Virginia border. /Vt the 
expiration of his term he re-enlisted, or "veteranized," as it was then 
termed, in the same command, and remained with it until the last gun 
was fired in the fratricidal strife. J\Ir. Boardman's services were not 
only of a varied and dangerous character, but they were marked through- 
out by a gallantry and devotion to duty which brought him constant 
commendation of his superior officers. He was with General McClellan 
all through the Peninsula campaign and during this exciting time was 
detailed to act as orderly for the commander-in-chief. Later, when 
General Pope took command in Piedmont, Virginia, the troops to which 
Mr. Boardman belonged were detached and sent to join his forces, it 
being the only part of the regiment that was employed in that service. 
By reason of this detached assignment the troops participated in the 
hard fought battles of second Bull Run, Antietam and South Mountain, 
with all the intermediate hard marching and privation which charac- 
terized the campaign iireceding and following Lee's first invasion of 
Maryland. June i6, 1863, shortly before the battle of Gettysburg, 
whither the armies were then converging, Mr. Boardman met with the 
misfortune of being wounded and taken prisoner, which necessitated a 
countermarch under guard up the valley of Virginia to Richmond, 
where he was introduced to the delectable bill of fare of Lil)l:)y prison. 



364 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

After four weeks' detention in this dismal den he was transferred to 
Belle Isle, an equally undesirahle boarding house, situated on James 
river, near the western end of Richmond. From this abode of misery 
he was sent in a month to another of the same kind at Florence, South 
Carolina, and finally obtained his parole at Charleston, in the same state. 
After his release Mr. Boardman served under General Phil Sheridan 
throughout his famous campaign in the Shenandoah valley, taking part 
in the innumerable raids and skirmishes which preceded Early's com- 
plete overthrow in the fall of 1864. During his services with Sheridan's 
dashing antl incomparable cavalry, Mr. Boardman was commissioned 
second lieutenant for conspicuous bravery and held this rank until mus- 
tered out of the service on the 20th of July, 1865. 

Immediately after obtaining his honorable discharge, Mr. Board- 
man went directh' to his brother and engaged as a fireman on the Chi- 
cago and Northwestern Railroad. Thus began a career which was des- 
tined to last a long time in the same line of work, and during this period 
he worked as a locomotive engineer, ten years for the Chicago and 
Northwestern, five years for the Burlington and Southwestern, one year 
for the Union Pacific, five years for the Wisconsin Central, four years 
for the Chicago, Burlington and Ouinc}-, and seven years for the Illinois 
Central. The only interruption in this chain of employment was caused 
by failure of health, which compelled him to spend four years in Colo- 
rado for recuperation. Finally, in i8g8, he concluded that he had done 
his share of hard work, and the veteran soldier and railroader sought 
a rest from the strain and perils to which he had so long been sub- 
jected. He first located in Appanoose county in 1879, and ever after- 
ward made his headquarters here while engaged in various railroad 
occupations. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 365 

In 1864 jMr. Boardmaii was married to Mary RoImiisou, wlio died 
in 1876, leaving a son. W. R. Boardman, who is at present a resident 
of Lynclilinrg, Virginia. In 1883 a second marriage was contracted, 
with Miss Emma Ferris, a native of Oliio, who came to Iowa witli her 
parents in early childhood. They are comfortably situated on a pro- 
ductive farm of eighty acres, five miles west of Moulton, where a gen- 
erous hospitality is dispensed to visiting friends. For the last thirty 
years Mr. Boardman lias been a member of tlie Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows, still holds membership in the Brotherhood of Locomotive 
Engineers and is an honored comrade in the Grand Army of the Re- 
public. 

GEORGE D. PORTER. 

Through a long line of good Irish ancestral stock — and a good 
ancestral heritage is often worth more than money — reared among sur- 
roundings that were favorable to the growth and development of the 
excellent traits of his character, the subject of this biography was one 
who made the most of life's opportunities, and his career is well worth 
study and emulation. In tracing the ancestry of the Porter family we 
tind that in the }-ear 1797 Robert Porter with his wife Elizabeth and 
son George left their native land of Ireland and sought a home in the 
new world, landing at Wilmington. From there he drifted into Penn- 
sylvania, and there maintained his residence. So far as is known he 
had only one son, George, who was born in Ireland and married Mollie 
Dougal. Their son, George D. Porter, was born in Pennsylvania in 
1805, and married Sarah McCoy, and they became the parents of the 
subject of this sketch. George D., Sr., was a Presbyterian minister, 
and preached at various points in Illinois, later moving to Cedar 



360 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

county, Iowa, in 185 1, in wliicli state he preaclied at several points. He 
continued in the active work of tlie ministry until his death, which oc- 
curred in Blairstown, Iowa. 

George D., the son of George D. and Sarah (McCoy) Porter, was 
born in Perrv county, Pennsylvania, in 1846. He obtained a fair edu- 
cation in the public schools and later studied law in Richmond, Mis- 
souri, being admitted to the bar at that place. He began the practice of 
his profession at jNIoulton. Appanoose county. Iowa, in 1870. In the 
following year he returned to Richmond, and there married Hannah 
Rodman, a native of Indiana. They then came to Mnulton. Init soon 
took up their residence in Centerville. where he carried on a very lucra- 
tive general law practice. Mr. Porter was a thorough believer in the 
principles of the Democratic party, and was always active in the party 
councils. The citizens of Centerville chose him to the important posi- 
tion of mayor of the municipalit}-, and he also served on the schocil 
board. His useful life came to an end in Centerville, on the nth of 
Februarv, 1899, and thus passed away a man whose worth was well 
recognized by his fellow-citizens and whose influence in public and 
social atYairs will long be felt in the community. He left behind his 
widow, who resides in Centerville. and fl\'e children : Claude R., Sadie 
L., Northa I., George McCoy, and Anna Mary. 

Claude R. Porter, the son of George D. and Hannah (Rodman) 
Porter, was born in Moulton, Iowa. Jul}- 8. 1S72. After graduating at 
the Center\-ille high scIick^I he spent one year of study at Parsons Col- 
lege at Fairfield, Iowa. He then decided upon the legal profession as 
his life work, and after studying under his father for a time attended 
the St. Louis Law School for one year, and was admitted to the Iowa 
bar in October, 1893. He has since carried on a high-class practice in 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 367 

Centerville. As an e\i(Ieiice of his popularity and eminent fitness for 
important positions in county and state, it is only necessary to give the 
offices he has held in the gift of the people. Although, like his father, 
he was an ardent Democrat, in 1895 the voters of his county, which is 
Republican, elected liiiu as a representative to the lower house, and 
chose him again in 1S97. while in 1899 he was made state senator from 
the district consisting of Appanoose and Davis counties, which is a 
Republican district, and in 1902 he was elected county attorney of Ap- 
panoose county. Fraternally he is a member of the Masonic order 
and the Knights of Pythias, and in religion is a Presbyterian. In 1899 
his marriage was celel)rated to Miss Maud L. Boutin, of Centerville, 
and they have one son, George. 



R. S. COULSON. 

Among the substantial and progressive farmers and stock raisers 
of Appanoose county none stands higher in public esteem than R. S. 
Coulson, who owns and operates the fine farm Maplehurst, of two 
hundred and twenty acres, on section 33, Douglass township. He was 
born on the old Coulson homestead in this county on the 24th of [anu- 
ary, 1861, and is a representative of an old and honored family, his 
father, William Coulson, having settled here about 1849. The latter 
was a native of Tennessee, where he grew to manhood upon a farm, and 
in that state he married Margaret Slater, who was also born and reared 
there. Loading their possessions into a wagon, they came to Iowa in 
1849, and took up their residence in Taylor township, this countv, 
where Mr. Coulson engaged in agricultural pursuits throughout the re- 
mainder of his life. Success crowned his well directed efforts and he 



368 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

became the owner of several hundred acres of lancL He was one of the 
heaviest taxpayers in the county, and was a man higlily respected and 
esteemed by all who knew him. By his marriage to Margaret Slater 
he had six children, four of whom are still living: John, a resident of 
Darbyville; Elkaner, also of Appanoose county; Samuel, of Johns 
township ; and Jerry, of Oklahoma ; while Rachel and Luther are both 
deceased. For his second wife the father married Martha Kinser, who 
came of a good family. She was born in Indiana and died in 1882 at 
the age of fifty-four years. The children born of this marriage were 
Frank, a resident of Taylor township, Appanoose county; F. H., of 
Monroe county, Iowa ; R. S., of this review ; Mrs. Mary Sarepta Turner, 
who lives on the old home farm; \\'iley B., also of this county; Ben- 
jamin and Sarah, both deceased ; Martha, and Margaret. 

R. S. Coulson passed the days of his boyhood and youth upon the 
old home farm, and by assisting in its operation developed his physical 
strength, while his literary education was acquired in the district schools 
of the neighborhood. At the age of twenty-two years he was united 
in marriage to Miss Flora Scott, who was also a native of this county, 
where she was reared and educated, being a daughter of Stephen Scott, 
now deceased, who was a resident of Taylor township. After a brief 
married life she died in 1884 at the age of twenty years. She was an 
earnest and consistent member of the United Brethren church, to which 
the mother of our subject also belonged. 

In 1891 Mr. Coulson was again married, his second union being 
with Mrs. Lucy (Tadlock) Hopkins, widow of J. B. Hopkins, who was 
a member of the United Brethren church, and died in this county in 
1889. Mrs. Coulson was born in Wapello county, Iowa, near the cit)' 
of Blakesburg, but the greater part of her girlhood was passed in Appa- 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 3C.9 

noose county. Her parents are J. M. and Charlotte (Kent) Tadlock, 
residents of Taylor township, this county. Her father came to Iowa 
from Illinois, but her mother was born in Lincolnshire, England, 
though she was only eight years of age when she came to the new 
world and settled in Iowa. In his political views Mr. Tadlock is a 
stanch Democrat and his religious faith is manifest by his member- 
ship with the Cumberland Presbyterian church. In his family are seven 
children, namely : Lucy, the wife of our subject ; Thomas : John .\. ; 
Arthur J. ; Ivy S. ; Arlie R. ; Sylvia S. Our subject and his wife 
have two children. Flora C, now ten years of age, and Bethel E., 
aged eight. 

Throughout his active business life Mr. Coulson has followed 
farming with marked success, and is to-day the owner of a well im- 
proved and valuable farm of two hundred and twenty acres. He has 
erected thereon a fine residence, a large barn and windmill, and has set 
out an orchard ; in fact, he has one of the best and most desirable 
farms of its size in the count)-. The fields are highly cultivated and on 
the pastures are seen good grades of stock. By his ballot Mr. Coulson 
supports the Democratic party and its principles, and he has etificientlv 
served as a member of the school board in his district. Now in the 
prime of life, he is enjoying the success which usually follows a life of 
industry and honesty, and both he and his wife are numbered among 
the most highly esteemed and honored citizens of the community where 
thev reside. 



370 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

J. R. DOGGETT. 

]. R. Doggett. whose fine farm of three hundred and forty acres 
is pleasantly located on section 15, Douglass township, Appanoose 
county, not far from Center\ille. is a self-made man, who, through un- 
tiring industry and unfaltering honesty and good management has 
worked his way upward to a position of affluence. His residence in the 
county covers almost thirty-eight years, and he is one of Iowa's native 
sons, for his hirth occurred in Wapello county, near Ottumwa, on 
the 17th of December, 1848. tlis father, Silas Doggett, came to Appa- 
noose county in 1865 and died ten years later at the age of fifty-four 
years. He was born in Indiana and was reared in that state, and when 
a young man cast in his lot with the pioneer settlers of Wapello county, 
living there when it was possible to hunt wild game, for so desolate was 
the region that the animals had not been driven west by the approach 
of the white man. Mr. Doggett was a good hunter and trapper and 
secured the animals for their furs, which brought a fair price. In those 
early days it required two weeks to go from his home to mill, and the 
family endured many hardships and privations incident to life on the 
frontier. He married Martha Redish, who was born in Indiana and 
died in 1848, leaving a family of ten children, namely : Thomas Dud- 
ley, who is now deceased ; Mary .\. ; Catherine, who has also passed 
away; Absolom, who died in 1902; John; Dudley; Daniel P.; Nancy 
J.; Moses, who was a soldier of the Ci\il war; and J. R., of this re- 
view. In the year 1849, soon after the discovery of gold in California, 
the father crossed the plains with an ox team, Ijeing fi\e months upon 
the way. There were few good roads, and as the rivers were unbridged 
they had to be forded. The party with which he traveled had several 
encounters with the Indians and on more than one occasion ]\Ir. Doggett 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 371 

narrowly escaped death. For three or four years he engaged in mining 
in CaHfornia, and then returned to Wapello county, Iowa, and later 
went to Appanoose county, where he carried on agricultural pursuits 
until his demise. For his second wife he chose Harriet (Derby) 
Bouren, and they had four children : Gilmore, Martha, Milton, and 
Harriet. The last named is now deceased. The father voted with 
the Democracy and was a zealous and active member of the Hardshell 
Baptist church, in which he was an exhorter, proclaiming the gospel 
tidings for many years. 

J. R. Doggett was reared in Wapello county until fifteen years of 
age, and in early life began work in the fields, following the plow almost 
from the time that he was old enough to reach its handles. He ob- 
tained his education in subscription schools, which were held in different 
houses in the neighlx)rhood, and remained at home until nineteen years 
of age, when he went west, being employed in freighting across the 
plains. He afterward engaged in mining coal in Wyoming and in 
driving freight trains. He was also a cowboy upon the plains and in 
the winter months mined coal at Bitter Creek, Wyoming. He experi- 
enced many hardships and saw some of the wild and exciting times 
which form a part of the early history of the west. After two years, 
however, he returned to Ai^pannose county, Iowa, and began farming 
here. 

At the age of twenty-two years Mr. Doggett was united in mar- 
riage in Douglass township to Miss Ellen Rebecca Ullem, who has in- 
deed been to him a faithful companion and helpmate on the journey 
of life. She is a lady who possesses many excellent characteristics and 
is highly esteemed for her good qualities of heart and mind. She was 
born in Monroe count}', but was reared and educated in Appanoose 



372 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

county, and is a daughter of John Ullem, whose birth occurred in Indi- 
ana, March 13, 1826. He was one of tlie four children of Jacoli UHem, 
a native of Germany, and the latter had a brother Josiah, who served 
in the Mexican war. Jacob Ullem was united in marriage to Jerusha A. 
Stewart, and their son John was reared after his thirteenth year by 
Harley Greenwood, a prominent man. In 1848 John Ullem came to 
Iowa and two years later made the overland trip to California with ox 
teams, being upon the road for five months, during which time he met 
the usual experiences incident to traveling across the plains in those 
days. At length he reached his destination in safety, and after two 
years spent in the mines of California he returned to Iowa by way of 
the Isthmus, bringing with him a good sum of money which he had 
secured in the far west. In 1850 he came to Monroe, later moving to 
Appanoose county. In Van Buren county he had married Phebe M. 
Cook, a native of Indiana, and a daughter of Jacob Cook. She died at 
the age of forty years. At her death Mrs. Ullem left the following chil- 
dren : Mrs. Lydia C. Morrison, now deceased: Mrs. Doggett; Hannah 
Jane \\'hite, living in Centerville; Jerusha Ann; Phebe Darthuley, 
the wife of Gilmore Doggett; Oliver Cook; Mary Gertrude; Lewis 
Harley ; and Leila Addie, all of the last six being deceased ; John 
Josiah, of Appanoose county ; Frances Matilda, who has also passed 
awav; and Benjamin Richard. For his second wife the father of these 
children chose Susan Hockett, and by this marriage there was one son, 
James N. His third wife bore the maiden name of Harriet Vought, 
and they had no children. The father was a successful man and good 
manager and became the possessor of a fine farm and excellent property. 
His life was e\er upright and honorable, and he therefore won the con- 
fidence and unqualified esteem of those with whom he came in contact. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 373 

To Mr. and Airs. Doggett were Ijorn seven cliildren : Charles 
Edward : James Harley : Leonard Ullem ; Nellie Jane, the wife of 
F. \\^ Hollingsw<irt]i. of Putnam county, jMissouri ; Darthnley May; 
Daisy Ellen; and Farrie Myrtle. The children have all heen provided 
with good educational privileges, fitting" them for life's practical duties. 

Mr. Doggett's landed possessions now aggregate four hundred and 
sixty-five acres, and his place is one of the finest farms of the county. 
In boring a well on Mr. Doggett's farm five veins of coal were passed 
through, one six-foot \-ein, one fi\-e-foot and twO' three-foot and one of 
twehe inches, all at a depth of less than two hundred feet. The large 
and well built residence is tastefully furnished, and in the rear stands 
a big barn and other substantial outbuildings. In the orchard are 
annually gathered fine varieties of apples and other fruits and the 
meadows and pasture lands furnish feed for the stock through the 
months of summer and through the winter season. There is also a 
wood lot upon the farm and rich fields of grain, from which Mr. Dog- 
gett annually har\-ests good crops. He started out in life on his own 
account with a cash capital of but thirty dollars, and to-day is num- 
bered among the substantial residents of his community, owing to his 
unfaltering energy and the capable assistance of his estimable wife. In 
politics he is a stanch Democrat, and both Mr. and Mrs. Doggett are 
loyal members of the Christian church. 



DANIEL CLICK. 

For more than a quarter of a century Daniel Click has resided in 
Appanoose county and his home is now located in Douglass township, 
where he has a good farm. He was l)orn in Fairfield countv, Ohio, on 



374 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

the 2 1 St of August, 1843, ^"d is a son of Isaac Click, whose birth oc- 
curred in Pennsylvania. The grandfather, Daniel Click, was of Penn- 
sylvania Dutch parentage, coming of a family noted for reliability in 
business and honor in all life's relations. He served his country as a 
soldier in the war of 1812. Isaac Click, after arriving at years of ma- 
turity, was united in marriage to Luvina Boyer, who was born in the 
Keystone state of Pennsylvania parentage. Three children graced this 
marriage : John W., who is now deceased ; Daniel ; and Louis, who 
was a soldier of the One Hundred and Twentieth Indiana Infantry 
during the Ci\il war and is now li\ing in Missouri. The mother died 
in Indiana when her son Daniel was but six years of age, and later the 
father married again and had three children by that union : Isaac M., 
Malissa and Emma. INIr. Click passed away in Carroll county, Mis- 
souri, when sixt}"-eight years of age. He had devoted his entire life 
to agricultural pursuits, had given his political support first to the De- 
mocracy and later to the Republican party, and had held membership in 
the Methodist Episcopal church, to which he contributed generously. 

Daniel Click, whose name introduces this review, obtained his edu- 
cation in the schools of Indiana. He was quite young at the time of 
the outbreak of the Ci\'il war, but in response to the call of President 
Lincoln for six hundred thousand men he joined the Twelfth Indiana 
Infantry, enlisting at Columbus, under Colonel William Link, who re- 
ceived his mortal wound at the battle of Richmond, Kentucky, at which 
time Colonel Williams took command of the regiment. The captain 
of Mr. Click's company was Ceorge Trotter, a brave and gallant officer. 
Our subject served for two years and eleven months, performing every 
duty without question, knowing that the first obligation which rests 
upon a soldier is to obey orders. He participated in many battles and 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 375 

skirniislies, including tlie engagements at Riclimund, at Missionary 
Ridge and at Chickaniauga. The regiment was first with General John 
A. Logan's corps, and later Mr. Click went upon the celehrated march 
from Atlanta to the sea under General Sherman. He took part in the 
battles of Resaca, Kcnesaw l\h)untain and Ezra Church. At Jackson, 
Mississippi, he suffered a sunstroke, and later, on account of other ail- 
ments, he had to go to the hospital at Rome, Georgia, where he re- 
mained from June until September. He then joined his regiment at 
Atlanta and afterward marched with his command to Savannah. Later 
he was in the battles of Beaufort, North Carolina, Columbia, South 
Carolina, and Bentonville, and marched on to Petersburg, Virginia, and 
to Richmond, proceeding thence to Washington, D. C, where he took 
part in the grand review, the gallant Twelfth Indiana leading the parade 
on that memorable occasion. Mr. Click was honorably discharged at 
the close of the war and returned to his home with his regiment, which 
had gone out thirteen hundred strong and came back with only three 
hundred, the graves of the others having been made in the soil of Ten- 
nessee, .Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Georgia. They had 
marched six thousand miles and participated in twenty battles and many 
skirmishes. 

In 1865 Mr. Click removed from Indiana to ]\Iissouri and was 
married on the 29th of December, 1869, in Carroll county, Missouri, 
to Martha J. Henamen, who was a successful teacher of that county 
and a lady of culture and refinement. She was born in Belmont county, 
Ohio, a daughter of John and Martha (Good) Henamen. Her father 
was havn near Hamburg, Pennsyh-ania, and died at the age of eighty- 
four years, but her mother is living in Centerville, Iowa, at the age of 
eighty-five years. The Henamen family came to Appanoose county, 



376 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

Iowa, in 1851, and after living here for nineteen years removed to Car- 
roll county, Missouri. Our subject and his wife have had three sons 
and seven daughters, namely: Harry E., Mrs. Stella McDonald, Mrs. 
Nannie B. Wells, Mary Edna, Frank R., Fannie B., Erma H., Eva 
Fern, Mina Lucile and John \\'., but the last named died at the age of 
eight years. 

In 1876 Mr. Glick came to Appanoose county from Missouri, and 
he has here a good farm of forty-one acres in Douglass township. This 
is well fenced and he has erected a new house and upon the place is a 
substantial barn. The land is rich bottom land, bordering on Snyder 
creek. Everything about the place is indicative of the progressive and 
practical spirit of the owner. In political views Mr. Glick is a Repub- 
lican, and he has served on the school board in this locality. He belongs 
to the Free ]\Iethodist church, in which he has served as class leader 
and steward, and he is a friend of temperance, morality and education. 



HUGH E. WILKINSON. 

Not far from Cincinnati. Iowa, on mail route No. 3, is a cozy and 
attractive farm, consisting of one hundred and twenty acres of highly 
improved and fertile land. Everything on and about this farm indicates 
thrift and good management. All the modern improvements in the way 
of machiner}- and appropriate agricultural architecture assure the visitor 
that a progressive and up-to-date farmer has the management of things 
on that place. Closer inspection will show that the dwelling house is 
equipped with a telephone, which places the manager in quick touch with 
the count}- seat and surrounding towns, while Uncle Sam's mail carrier 
stops at the door every day to deliver newspapers and letters. Such is 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 377 

one of the prettiest places to be seen in a state famous for its fine farms 
and ideal homes. Inquiry ehcits the information that the happ}' owner 
of this "little farm well tilled" is Hugh E. Wilkinson, and it is the 
object of this biography to tell the reader something about him. He is 
descended from a combination of English and Irish joined in matri- 
monial alliance. Dr. Thomas Wilkinson, who was born and bred in 
England, in early life met and married in Ohio an Irish lady by the 
name of Ann Murphy, and this union of natives of two countries so 
hostile i)roduced no e\'il results, as "the\- lived happily ever after." 
They made their home in Dayton, Ohio, where Dr. Wilkinson prac- 
ticed medicine a few years, but in 1856 he removed to Appanoose 
county, Iowa, secured a farm in l*"ranklin township and there spent all 
the remainder of his days. The Doctor was a Presbyterian in religion, 
while his wife adhered to the doctrines promulgated by the Baptist 
church. He lived to the rather advanced age of ninety-one years and 
died in 1901, just a year after his wife, who passed away in 1900 when 
eighty-five years old. Their only children were William M. and Hugh 
E., the former of whom is now li\ing in the old home place in Franklin 
township. 

Hugh E. Wilkinson, the second son, was born at Dayton, Ohio. 
June 5, 1853, and was just three years old when his parents trans- 
ferred the scene of their operations to Iowa. He grew up in Appa- 
noose county and received good educational advantages at the common 
schools in Franklin township, the high school at Centerville and the 
academy at College Springs, Iowa. As soon as he laid aside his books 
he engaged in farming, and this has ever since been the regular <x:cu- 
pation of his life. His Iowa residence, however, was interrupted by 
a western sojourn of ten or twelve jears beyond the Missouri river. 



378 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

While at Newton, Kansas, -where he Hved several years, he met and 
married Phoebe J., daughter of John and Sarah Phillips, residents of 
that place. He went from Kansas to Colorado, where he remained imtil 
1897. and then returned to his old home in Iowa, from which he has 
never since departed. How comfortable he is now hxed. and how well 
he has Ijeen doing, is sufficiently emphasized in the opening paragraph 
of this biographical sketch. Of Mr. Wilkinson's four children, two. 
Anna and Thomas P., are living, and the other two, Harry E. and Fred 
W., have joined the great majority. In politics he is a Republican, in 
religion a Methodist, and fraternally a member of the Masons, and 
he and his wife and their eldest daughter are members of the Order 
of the Eastern Star. 



W. F. CALHOUN. 

W. F. Calhoun, the well known proprietor of the Lone Ehn stock 
farm and one of the most successful agriculturalists of Chariton town- 
ship, his home being on section 17, came to Appanoose county in 1874, 
and has since been prominently identified with its upbuilding and devel- 
opment. He was born near Salem in Columbiana county, Ohio, on the 
17th of April, 1852, and comes of a good family, noted for intelligence, 
industry and honesty. His father, David Bell Calhoun, was l)orn in 
Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, in 1819, and was a son of James Alex- 
ander Calhoun, who was of Scotch-Irish descent. Our subject's an- 
cestors were devout members of tl:e Presybterian church and were early 
settlers of western Pennsylvania. From that state his grandfather re- 
moved to Indiana, where his last days were passed. He was a soldier 
of the war of 18 12. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 381 

David B. Calhoun grew to manhood in his native state and re- 
ceived a good education during boyhood. On reaching man's estate 
lie married Miss Margaret B. Fife, who was also a native of Allegheny 
county, Pennsylvania, but was reared in Washington county, that state. 
Her people came originally from the highlands of Scotland, though her 
father, William Fife, spent his entire life in the Keystone state, dying 
in Washington county. In early life David B. Calhoun taught school 
and also engaged in clerking in a store. For a time he made his home 
in Wheeling, West Virginia, and on coming west in 1874 located in 
the northern part of Appanoose county, and in 1892 moved to Avery, 
Monroe county, Iowa, where he died October 25, 1894, honored and re- 
spected by all who knew him. In religious faith he was a Covenanter 
and in politics was a Jacksonian Democrat, holding office during his 
residence in Ohio. His widow, who was to him a faithful companion 
and helpmeet, still sur\'ives her husband and now makes her home in 
Franklin township, Monroe county, near Iconium. In the family of 
this worthy couple were seven' children, of whom W. F. Calhoun is the 
eldest. The others are J. A., a resident of Monroe county, Iowa ; John 
B., of Decatur county, this state; Mrs. Mary J. Kingery, of Brighton, 
Iowa; C. C, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Matthew, deceased; and 
Lee, who died in childhood. 

W. F. Calhoun spent the first thirteen years of his life in his native 
state and then accompanied his parents on their removal to northern 
Indiana. Later liis home was near Joliet, Will county, Illinois, and 
from there he removed to Putnam county, Indiana, settling near Green- 
castle. His education was obtained in the schools of Illinois, Indiana 
and Iowa, where he was fitted for the teacher's profession. In 1874 
he came to .Appanoose county, Iowa, where he commenced teaching two 



382 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

years later, being thus employed through eight winter terms with good 
success. Since then he has given his attention exclusively to his farm- 
ing and stock-raising interests. He is now the owner of a valuable 
farm of four hundred and fifty-five acres, known as the Lone Elm stock 
farm, which is divided into fields of convenient size by well kept fences, 
and improved with a good residence, barn and other outbuildings for the 
shelter of grain and stock. He raises a high grade of cattle, which he 
finds quite profitable. 

On the 6th of November. 1877. Mr. Calhoun married Miss Hen- 
rietta Elizabeth Free, who was born, reared and educated in this county. 
Her father, John Free, a prominent stockman of Chariton township, 
is one of the pioneers of this county and one of its largest land owners. 
He was born in North Carolina in 1830. a son of William and Sarah 
(Alfred) Free, who were natives of South Carolina and died in Indiana. 
From that state John Free came to Iowa at an early day and here he has 
steadily prospered tmtil he is now the owner of about sixteen hundred 
acres of land, mostly valley land, on which are good and substantial 
farm buildings, though his first home in this state was a log cabin, six- 
teen bv sixteen feet. He raises a large number of cattle and horses and 
has been remarkalil}- successful in all his undertakings. In 1854 he 
married Harriet Sheeks. a native of Indiana, and to them were born 
eleven children, seven of whom are still living, and they also have four- 
teen grandchildren. During the Civil war Mr. Free enlistefl, in Aug- 
ust, 1862. in Comjjany F. Thirty-sixth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, under 
the command of Captain Vermillion, and was in the service for three 
years, being a prisoner at Camp Ford. Tyler, Texas, for nine months of 
that time. When hostilities ceased he was honorably discharged and 
returned home. Pie is a supporter of tlie Republican party and a man 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 383 

of prominence in tiie cnninumity where he resides. Mr. and Mrs. Cal- 
houn have five cliiidren: Harley Z., a mechanic and farmer, married 
Miss Laura Jennison, November 5, 1902; Lori Garfield, one of the 
popular teachers of tliis count)- ; Lillie May, also a popular and success- 
ful teacher; Ina Osa and Syhia Emily. 

Our subject, his wife and oldest daughter are members of the 
Christian church, and no family of Chariton township stands higher in 
public esteem. By his ballot Mr. Calhoun supports the men and 
measures of the Republican party, and for thirteen years most efficiently 
and satisfactorily serxed as a member of the school board in his town- 
ship. He is a well informed man and is hospitable and jovial in dispo- 
sition. 

BL.MR STEVENSON. 

The family to which the above named belongs was contributed to 
Iowa in its formative period by the old Keystone state, which sent forth 
such swarms of younger citizens to the western part of our country. 
Henry Stevenson, who was born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, 
March 20, 1802, was the son of poor parents, and as he grew up had 
to work hard for a li\elihood. In his earlier years his occupation was 
that of a woodchopper, but later he abandoned this rather exacting pur- 
suit for that of farming. He married Sarah Blair, a daughter of one 
of his neighbors, whose birth occurred in October, 1797, and after this 
event lived some years in his native state, but in J 845 moved with his 
family to Darke county, Ohio, where he rented and cultivated a farm 
for six years. In 185 1 they went to W'apello county, Iowa, where an- 
other place was rented until 1856, and then a final move was made to 
Appanoose countv to the farm at present occupied by their son. where 



384 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

they lived until their deaths, which occurred respectively in 1885 and 
1880. 

Blair Stevenson was born in Fayette county. Pennsylvania, Janu- 
ary 17, 1834, and he was next to the youngest in a family of eight 
children, four of whom are living. He was eleven years old when his 
parents moved west, and the frequent changes of residence which sub- 
sequently took place were not conducive to regular education such as is 
obtained in schools. In fact, his training consisted principally of the 
hard work he had to do on the various farms rented or owned by his 
father, but all this came in good play when he himself assumed the 
burden of managing a farm. On March 24, 1864, he was married in 
Wapello county to Louise White, a native of Gallia county, Ohio, who 
came to Iowa with her parents when two years old. Mr. and Mrs. 
Stevenson have seven children: Sarah Jane, wife of E. H. Streepy; 
Laura Belle; Mrs. Emma Barlett; Mrs. Minnie Hutchison; Walter; 
Mrs. Myrtle Fox; and Ella. Though he still resides on the home farm, 
Mr. Stevenson sold the place to his son-in-law, Mr. Streepy. 



JONAS SUTTON. 

In the earlier years of the nineteenth century there lived in the 
isolated mountain section of western Virginia a young man named 
Cornelius Sutton. He was born in Pendleton county, of poor parents, 
and was himself uf the class who are compelled to earn their daily bread 
by the sweat of their brows. When still a mere lad, so great were the 
necessities of the family, that he was compelled to become a "lx)und 
boy," and spent many weary years of drudgery learning the tanner's 
trade. He mastered it, however, and when he became a journeyman 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 385 

went intci the Inisiness regularly and followed it many years as a means 
of livelihood. In the course of time he felt able to take a wife, as, for- 
tunately, poverty is no bar to matrimony, and his choice of a life com- 
panion fell upon one of the neighborhood girls named Ellen Johnson. 
Shortly after his marriage Cornelius decided to move to the nearby 
county of Harrison, where he changed from tanning to farming, and 
from that on to the end was engaged in agricultural pursuits. The 
exact date of his death is not given, but it is known that his good wife 
did not long survi\-e him, and the two sleep side by side in a lonely 
cemetery of West Virginia. This worthy couple became the parents 
of eleven children, most of whom have long since passed away, there 
being at present only three survi\ors of this once large family. One of 
these is the well known farmer and citizen who now lives in retirement 
near Moulton, Iowa. 

Jonas Sutton, one of the older cliildren of his father Cornelius, 
was born in Highland county. West Virginia, January i, 1832, 'and 
was reared to manhood on the farm to which the family removed in 
his infancy. Schools were few and far between in West Virginia in 
those days, and farmers' boys had little opportunity for what they called 
"book learning." Young Sutton, like the rest of them, got his educa- 
tion by the hard licks necessary to make rough land produce, and he 
learned early the stern but useful lesson that there is no success without 
labor. Jonas Sutton had reached his twenty-ninth year before he felt 
able to marry, but in i860 was united in the holy bonds with Sarah 
Jane Robinson, one of the industrious and deserving young women of 
Harrison count}-. They remained in their native state during the whole 
period of the Civil war, though the Virginias at that time were not very 
desirable places of alxode, and after the conflict was over, with its waste 



386 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

and ruin, Mr. and Mrs. Sutton wisely concluded that they could better 
their fortunes by moving far towards the setting sun. It was in 1865 
that this journey was entered upon, and it did not conclude tmtil Mr. 
Sutton and his wife "drew rein" in Appanoose county, Iowa. There 
they located on a tract of land which later became widely known as 
the old Sutton homestead, situated in the most desirable section of the 
county, in the southwest part of Moulton. The land was rich, Mr. 
Sutton was industrious and an e.xcellent manager, Mrs. Sutton was a 
good housekeeper, and with these elements present the statement almost 
naturally follows that success and comfort and finally wealth waited 
upon the immigrants from Virginia. Between his fine crops and fine 
stock, both of which he raised in abundance, ]\Ir. Sutton found himself 
in easier circumstances almost every year, and wlien finally he felt like 
retiring he had an elegant home in which to spend the evening of his 
days. He cultivated his farm from the time of his arri\al until the fall 
of 1902, a period of thirty-seven years, and at the end of that time was 
the owner in fee simple, without mortgage or obligation of any kind, 
of three hundred and seventy-five acres of the finest land in .Vppanoose 
county. After the death of his good wife, however, which occurred in 
April, 1902, the old place looked lonely to Mr. Sutton, and the next fall 
he took up residence with his daughter, Mrs. Florence Peterson, at her 
hospitable home, two and one-quarter miles west of Moulton. Here he 
takes life easy, avoids worry of all sorts, and has a kind greeting for 
all friends, who are c^uite numerous, as Jonas Sutton is one of the 
popular as well as one of the substantial men of Appanoose county. 
Besides the daughter with whom he resides, his other children are 
G. W. Sutton, who lives five miles west of Moulton, and Mrs. Letta 
Swartz, whose residence is in tlie same neighborhood. Mr. Sutton has 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 387 

long been connected with the Alethodist Episcopal church, and it is 
needless to add that his social and religious life is guided by the same 
moral bearing and regard for the well-being of others that have always 
characterized his conduct in business affairs. 



HERMAN L. AND WILLIAM KIRCHMAN. 

Herman L. Kirchman comes of one of those old German families 
which seem fast rooted in the soil and have derived their elemental 
strength from the rugged land of tlieir birth. In the very first century 
of modern history, when the world was just awaking from the sleep 
of the middle ages, we find members of the house engaged in the great 
work of the universities; for since 1535 some representative of the 
family has been a professor in one of the universities, as was the father 
of our subject. Herman was the third of his father's twelve children 
and was born in the kingdom of Prussia on March 28, 1839. He re- 
ceived his education in the university in which his father was professor 
and in the great technical school at Kiel, Germany, learned the trade 
of machinist. He became an engineer on one of the ocean steamers 
and was thus employed for three years. During one of his trips to the 
United States the Civil war broke out, and at the first call for volun- 
teers he enlisted in a New York company of volunteers, all of whom, 
however, deserted, with the exception of himself and a few others, who 
were transferred to Company K, Eleventh New York Infantry; after 
serving for one year he was honorably discharged. 

The next event in Mr. Kirchman's life is one that is interesting 
from the point of general history. In 1863 he came west to Chats- 
worth, Illinois, and placed the machinery in the first beet sugar plant 



388 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

ever established in this country, an industry which now occupies so 
prominent a place in the commerce of the world. Mr. Kirchman oper- 
ated this plant for twii years, and then went to Clinton, Iowa, and 
was superintendent of the Union Iron Works there for fourteen 
years. He then went to Davenport, Iowa, and was superintendent of 
the Donohue Machine Shops for four years. After spending a year in 
Muscatine, Iowa, he returned to Davenport and was employed by the 
Rock Island Railroad for a year. March i, 1883, is the date of his com- 
ing to Centerville. He here purchased a machine shop and operated it 
under the name of the Centerville Iron Works as sole proprietor up to 
the time of his death, which occurred April 24, 1901. 

Mr. Kirchman died in the consciousness that he had been success- 
ful in his best endeavors and that by his honest industry he had laid 
up a fair competence. He began his operations in this city, owing a 
part of the purchase price of his plant, but the concern grew and is still 
carrying on a splendid trade. Mr. Kirchman's first marriage occurred 
in New York city just after his army service, when he became the bus 
band of Helen Geissler, of German nativity, who bore him three chil- 
dren — William, Irma. and Jessie. At Davenport he married for his 
second wife Dora Carstens, who survives him, and is the mother of one 
son, George W. In religious belief he was a Unitarian, was a member 
of the Grand Army of the Republic and of the Ancient Order of United 
Workmen. 

WiLLi.xM Kirchman, the son of Herman Kirchman by 
his first wife, was born in Clinton. Iowa. June 29, 1866. After receiv- 
ing a common school education, he learned the machinist's trade under 
his father. He worked in his father's shops and at the latter's death 
succeeded to the ownership of the Center\"ille Iron Works. This shop 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 389 

is equipped witli all inachiiier\- for workint;' in metals and does a large 
business in placing heating plants. Likewise it makes a specialty of 
mining machinery and general repair work. Mr. Kirchman was mar- 
ried in 1889 to Blanche Randolph, and they have two children. He 
has been chosen to represent the citizens in the city council and is a 
public-spirited man, ever ready to help au}' enterprise for the good of 
the community. 

HON. FRANK S. PAYNE. 

Grandfather Henry Payne was a native of the great state of Vir- 
ginia and was one of the early settlers of Iowa, settling in Henry 
county of that state in 1835, before the territory had been made into a 
state. The father of the immediate subject of this sketch, Charles \V. 
Payne, was born in Henry county, Iowa ; his wife was Margaret Patton, 
who was born near Wheeling, West Virginia: her father, Matthew 
Patton, was also a pioneer of Iowa, and after returnin.o- to Virginia 
for a time, he took up his permanent residence in Henry county. 
Charles W. Payne has spent most of his life in the pursuit of agricul- 
ture and now owns and conducts a fine farm in Henry county, raising a 
great number of stock and making extensive deals in buying and ship- 
ping the same. He has been a stanch and loyal Republican and has 
served two terms in the lower branch of the Iowa legislature. There are 
four children in tlie family, two sons and two daughters. 

Frank S. Payne, the oldest son of this family, first saw the light 
on a farm near Mount Pleasant, Henry county, Iowa, August 16, 1869. 
He passed his boyhood da3's on the farm and attended the country 
schools. He then was sent to his uncle, a lawyer in Bushnell, Illinois, 
and there graduated from the high school at the age of fifteen years. 



390 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

From there he entered Iowa Wesleyan University at Mount Pleasant, 
and was graduated in 1892. Having decided upon the profession of 
law, he entered the Northwestern University Law School at Chicago 
and completed his course in 1894. In the same year he was admitted 
to the bar in both Iowa and Illinois, and in the fall of that year located 
at Centerville, where he began the practice which he has since carried 
on so successfully. 

Besides attending to his large clientage. I\Ir. Payne has taken an 
active interest in political affairs. In the fall of 1899 he was elected on 
the Republican ticket as representative in the lower house of the state 
legislature and was re-elected in 1901. By a curious coincidence he 
served his first term in the house just twenty years after his father had 
held the same place. The part that he took in the affairs of legislation 
was very creditable to him. In 1896 I\Ir. Payne was married to Miss 
Grace Dickison, of Mount Pleasant. Iowa. He and his wife are mem- 
bers of the Presbyterian church and are valued and respected members 
of society, always ready to do their share toward advancing any good 
cause. 



JOHN McFARLAND, M. D. 

The medical profession probably has more opportunities and gives 
a wider field for studious research and beneficent work in the interests 
of humanity than any other great calling that now occupies the atten- 
tion of men's endeavors. The ranks of the profession have a valuable 
addition in the person of John McFarland. who is one of the leading 
practitioners of Centerville. Iowa. His parents were George and Eliza- 
beth (Solms) McFarland. Tlie former was a native of Edinburgh. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 391 

Scotland, a land tliat has pmduced many a sturdy American citizen. 
He came to this country when he was thirty-five years of age and was 
married in New York, which was his wife's native state. From there 
he came west to Wisconsin and tliere died. He was a farmer by occu- 
pation and possessed all the excellent qualities that are characteristic 
of the Scot. The wife, with her family of ten children, is still living. 

John, one of the above family, was born in Fond du Lac county, 
Wisconsin, in 1855. He remained on his father's farm until he was 
twenty-one and received a good common school education, graduating 
from the high school in Fond du Lac. He had learned the trade of mill- 
wright, and for five years after leaving the farm was engaged in this 
with considerable success. He then went to South Dakota and farmed 
and raised stock until 1885. Deciding that he was fitted for some more 
congenial occupation, in that year he entered the Homeopathic Medical 
College in Chicago and in 1887 completed a successful course of study 
in that institution. In 1889 he closed out his stock business in Dakota, 
and in the spring of the following year located in Centerville, where he 
has since carried on his profession with marked success. Mr. McFar- 
land is prominently connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
lows. In 1899 he was united in marriage to Miss Etta Grimes, of Cen- 
terville. They have a pleasant home, are surrounded with all the com- 
forts of life and are the center of an ever widening circle of friends 
and acquaintances. To predict the future from the past, we presage a 
bright career before our worthy subject. 



392 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

O. H. LAW. 

In America, above all otlier countries, are true worth, character, 
perseverance and steady, intelligent effort appreciated and rewarded, 
and it is our privilege in this short article to sketch the career of a man 
who has risen to the top under difficulties that would have discouraged 
anyone with less of the true American grit and energy. The parents 
of this gentleman were Thomas and Rachel (Booth) Law, who were 
born, reared and married near Senecaville, Ohio, and after their mar- 
riage came west and settled on a farm in Wells township, Appanoose 
county, Iowa. Thomas Law had learned the tailor's trade and followed 
it for many years, until failing health compelled him to take up some 
outdoor work. He accordingly engaged in farming and is now living 
retired in Moulton, Iowa. 

O. H. Law is one of seven children, four sons and three daughters, 
and his birth occurred on a farm just south of Moulton, on Februar)- i, 
1857. His early education was limited to what he could secure in the 
first eleven }-ears of his life. At that age he was put to the hard and 
uncongenial work in the woolen mill at Moulton, and he labored there 
until he was nineteen years old. Finding no profit in such employment 
and being unable to reconcile it to his higher \-iews of life, he left the 
mill and for a while did whatever came to his hands, sawing wood and 
odd jobs. He was determined to gain an education, even at that late 
date, and with commendable effort graduated from the Moulton high 
school in 1878. He then taught school for a total of thirty-six months, 
studying law in the meantime. In 1880 he was admitted to the bar and 
at once began practice in Centerville. soon building up a good practice. 

Mr. Law's political career is also worthy of notice. He has always 
been a Democrat; although living in a strongly Republican community, 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 393 

he lias been clioseii to many offices. For two years lie servetl as deputy 
county auditor; in i8Si he was elected county auditor and was re- 
elected; for one term, from 1888 to 1890, he was city solicitor of Cen- 
terville. In all these offices he has evidenced his business push and 
blameless integrity. In 1886 Mr. Law branched out into the real estate, 
loan and abstract business and has developed a large and lucrative busi- 
ness. His brother has l>een associated with him since 1889, and in 1894 
the firm was incorporated as the Law Brothers Company. Mr. Law is 
known as a hustler and is certain to make a success of any enterprise 
which he undertakes. He was married in 1880 to Miss Anna Deeds, 
and they have two children. The family is one of the most respected 
in the town and has a large circle of friends. 



HENRY H. WRIGHT. 

General Henry Harrison Wright is an honored veteran of the Civil 
war and a man who has for a number of years held a leading place among 
the prominent business men of Appanoose county, Iowa, where he is 
engaged in the general insurance Inisiness. He was born in Williams- 
port, Warren county, Indiana, on the 26th of February, 1840, being a 
son of John B. and Eliza (Purjue) Wright. The father, who was a 
native of Ohio, was of Scotch-Irish ancestry, while the mother, who 
was born in Incliana, was of Irish descent. 

Henry H. \^'right spent the first twenty years of his life in the place 
of his birth, receiving his early education in its common schools, which 
was later supplemented l)y a course in the Boyer Academy of Williams- 
port. \Micn eighteen years of age he began learning the printer's trade, 
which he followed at Williamsport. Indiana, and Danx'ille, Illinois, until 



394 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

i860, coming thence to Centerville, Iowa, his intention being to con- 
tinue the journey to the mines at Pike's Peak. However, in May, 1861, 
at the first call for troops, he enlisted for service in the Civil war, be- 
coming a member of Company D, Sixtieth Iowa Infantry, entering 
the ranks as a private, and was not mustered into service until the 17th 
of July following. His regiment served in Missouri until March, 1862, 
when it was ordered to Shiloh, taking part in the engagement at that 
place; also participated in the siege of Corinth, in the campaign in 
northern Mississippi under General Grant, in General Sherman's divi- 
sion and corps, the Vicksburg campaign, the second capture of Jackson, 
Mississippi, Missionary Ridge, and in the relief of General Burnsides 
at Knoxville, Tennessee. It also participated in the Atlanta campaign, 
including the battles of Resaca, Dallas, Big Shanty. Kenesaw Moun- 
tain, Atlanta. Jonesborough and Lovejoy's Station. The regiment was 
with General Sherman on his march to the sea, the campaign through 
the Carolinas, in the battle of Bentonville, at the capture of Raleigh, 
North Carolina, and in the march through Richmond, Virginia, to 
Washington, where it participated in the grand review in May, 1865. 
Mr. Wright took part in all the engagements with his regiment, and 
January i, 1865, was commissioned second lieutenant of his company 
by Governor Stone. 

He was mustered out with his regiment at Louisville, Kentucky, 
July 22, 1865, and after his discharge from the army returned to Cen- 
terville. In the following October he was elected sheriff of Appanoose 
county, which office he held by re-election until January, 1874, serving 
in all eight years, and for the following two years he was the deputy 
sheriff under John M. Elgin. In January, 1876, General W'right em- 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 395 

barked in tlie insurance, real estate and abstract business at Center- 
ville, to which lie has devoted more than twenty-five years. 

The marriage of our subject was celebrated on the I5t!i of Novem- 
ber, 1866, at Ceiiterville, when Miss Catherine A. Gray became his 
wife. They have five living children : John Albert, Henry Clay, Fanny, 
Mary D., and Rolle. One son, Charles Cyrus, died in October, 1872, at 
the age of five years, and Jesse Berch died at the age of fourteen months. 
On the 7th of December, 1878, Mr. Wright entered the Iowa National 
Guard as first sergeant of Company E, Fifth Regiment, and soon after- 
ward, on March 14, 1S80, was promoted to second lieutenant of Com- 
pany E, Second Regiment, while on April 15, 188 1, he was made the 
captain. He was promoted to colonel of the Second Regiment, July 
26, 1 88 1, and on September 3, 1883, was elected brigadier general and 
twice re-elected, commanding the First Brigade, Iowa National Guard, 
for eleven years. He was appointed adjutant general for Iowa, Febru- 
an*- I, 1896, by Governor 1". M. Drake, and served two years. In his 
political affiliations Mr. Wright is a Republican, and fraternally is a 
member of the Odd Fellows order, being past noble grand of Center- 
ville Lodge No. 76, and he is also a past post commander of John L. 
Bashaw Post No. 122, G. A. R. 



GEORGE C. ELLIOTT. 

This gentleman, who ser\-ed as clerk of the district court of Ap- 
panoose county, is perhaps the most experienced official in the count}. 
During his comparatively short lifetime he has served in three diff'erent 
county offices, and pre\-iously served two terms as deputy in the office 
he recently filled as principal. This long official service has not only 



396 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

made him efficient, but lias brought him into acquaintance with a large 
number of people whose good will is the best test of his standing. .\s 
he is still under thirty years of age. a member of the dominant party 
and quite popular with all classes, it is safe to predict for this accom- 
plished young man a brilliant and successful future. He is now en- 
gaged in the abstract business. He is a son of John and Xancy 
(Morgan) Elliott, who formerly lived in Davis county, but came to 
Centerville in 1884. The father was twice elected clerk of the district 
court of Appanoose county and served liis two terms with such satisfac- 
tion as to be voted one of the most popular officials the county ever had. 
George C. Elliott was born May 14, 1874. while his parents re- 
sided at Drakeville. Iowa, and was ten years old when brought by them 
to Centerville. He attended the city schools, but at a very early age 
became a deputy under bis father in the clerk's office of the district 
court. As he remained there during his father's tw-o terms, he re- 
ceived an unusuallv thorough training in all the details and duties con- 
nected with such a trust. Xaturally this made his services in demand 
and he was appointed deputy in the recorder's office, where he served 
a year, and went from there to the office of the county treasurer, with 
whom he remained as deput\- four years. In addition to all this he 
was for a time collector of delinquent ta.xes and the duties of these posi- 
tions were discharged with such efficiency and fidelity that when a va- 
cancv occurred in the clerkship of the district court Mr. Elliott was 
appointed to fill the unexpired term. This appointment, which sent him 
back as principal to the office which he had so long occupied as deputy, 
was made in January, 1902, and he forwith assumed charge of his 
trust. Since leaving this office Mr. Elliott has engaged in the abstract 
business, which occupies his attention at the present time. Mr. Elliott's 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 397 

political preferences are zealously Republican and he is popular as a 
worker and leader among the younger element of the party to which 
he gives an earnest advocacy. 



JAMES FRANKLIN PARKS. 

The .story of the life of the subject of this sketch is like that of 
many other progressive lovva citizens, filled with years of boyish enjoy- 
ment and work on the old farm, advancing by steady degrees along the 
way of life, and by his conscientious work and determination pushing 
forward until he now occupies an honored place among the citizens of 
Appanoose county and is serving the people in one of the important of- 
fices of the county. 

Robert and Sarah (Lowe) Parks are the parents of the subject of 
this biography ; the father was born in Tennessee, but when a mere in- 
fant was taken l)y his parents to Indiana, where they lived and died. 
Robert grew to manhood in this state and when nineteen years old went 
to Illinois ; he was there married, Sarah Lowe being a native of Ken- 
tucky, but being taken by her parents to Sangamon county, Illinois, when 
a young girl. Soon after his marriage he went to Iowa and finally de- 
cided to locate in Davis county, but in 1865 moved to a farm in Ap- 
panoose county. He has been a successful farmer all his life. He has 
always cast his vote for the men of the Republican part\-, and relig- 
iously he and his wife are members of the Christian church. There 
have been born to them five daughters and two sons. 

James Franklin, one of the above children, was tx)rn while his par- 
ents resided in Davis county, Iowa, on Christmas day of 1859. Reared 
on the farm, his labor was diversified by attendance in the district schools 



39S BIOGRAFHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

and by evenings spent in reading and self-education at liome. He re- 
mained on his parents' farm in Appanoose county until 1884 and in that 
year was married to Miss Cora F. Kewley. the daughter of Thomas P. 
Kewley, deceased, and a nati\e of Illinois. After his marriage Mr. 
Parks settled on a farm and has farmed and resided in this count)- ever 
since with the exception of two years spent in Nebraska. 

He has taken an active interest in local politics, lieing a member of 
the Republican party, in the fall of 1900 he was chosen by his fellow- 
citizens to the office of county auditor ; the confidence the people showed 
in him in electing him to this ot¥ice has been amply endorsed In- the ca- 
pable handling of the position bestowetl upon him. He is progressive 
and ready to assist in any enterprise for the city's advancement, and he 
has a genius for hard work that will effect many improvements in the 
details of his office. Mr. Parks holds membership in the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows and belongs to the Christian church. His mar- 
riage has been blessed with two sons, Thomas R. and Seth Lyle. 



EDWARD J. GAULT. 

One of the distinguished citizens of Appanoose county, his name 
figuring prominently in public affairs, is Edward J. Gault. He was 
born near Belfast. Ireland, on the ist of June, 1828, his parents being 
Francis and Deborah (McCall) Gault. both of whom were natives of 
the Emerald Isle. His paternal grandfather was a participant in the 
Irish revolution and was killed in that conflict by the British at the bat- 
tle of Antrim. In 1839 tlie parents of our subject with their seven 
children came to the United States and took up their alx>de in Philadel- 
phia, Pennsyhania. where they remained for ten years. On the expira- 




ELWARD J. GAULT. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 401 

tion of tliat period they renioxed to Madison, Wisconsin, and late in the 
year 1854 they left that locaHty, following our subject to Appanoose 
county, Iowa. Here the mother died in i860 at the age of sixty-three 
years, and the father's death occurred in 1870, when he was .seventy 
years of age. Both were laid to rest in the Cincinnati cemetery. The 
father was reared a farmer and throughout his entire business career 
carried on agricultural pursuits, achieving fair success in his under- 
takings. In politics he was first an old-line Whig and afterward be- 
came a Democrat. In religious faith he was a Presbyterian, while 
his wife was connected with the Episcopalian church. In their family 
were seven children, namely : Annabel, now deceased ; Francis, who 
died in Kentucky; Edward J., of this review; Richard, who is a resi- 
dent farmer of Iowa; Henry, who died in Appanoose county in 1885; 
Annie, the wife of James Wolfinger, who is living near Cincinnati; and 
one that died in infancy. 

Edward J. Gault was in his eleventh year when his parents came 
to the United States and during the succeeding decade was a resident 
of Philadelphia and of New York city, spending a year and a half of 
that time in the American metropolis. He was apprenticed to learn 
the painter's and gilder's trade in Philadelphia. After spending a 
year and a half in New York he resided in Wilmington, Delaware, for 
about the same time. (3n the expiration of that period he went to 
Louisville, Kentucky, which place he left in October, 1850, going down 
the Ohio river and up the Mississippi to Galena, Illinois; from that 
place he made his way to Madison, Wisconsin, where he was employed 
as a farm hand until the s])ring ni 1852. In the summer of that year 
he went to Oswego, Illinois, where he worked at his trade, and in the 
spring of 1853 he came to Appanoose county, Iowa, settling where ne 



402 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

now li\-es, in Pleasant township. Since that time he lias carried on 
general farming and stock-raising. When he came to this connty he 
brought with him a capital of about three hundred dollars, all of which 
he had saved from his earnings. He has since been \'ery successful in 
his business affairs, his diligence and enterprise enabling him to over- 
come all difficulties and obstacles in his path and work his way steadily 
upward to prosperity. 

On Christmas day of 1853 Mr. Gault was united in marriage to 
Miss Sophia L. McClure, a daughter of Thomas and Jane ( Young) 
McClure. Mrs. Gault \vas born in Ohio, but her parents were natives 
of the north of Ireland, whence they emigrated to the new world. In 
religious faith they were Presbyterians. Mrs. Gault died on November 
27, 1873, at the age of forty-three years, and on the 25th of June, 1879, 
Mr. Gault was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Jane 
S. Wootten, who was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a daughter of 
Stephen H. and Jane (Kennedy) Simmons, both of whom were natives 
of Philadelphia. Ten children were born to the marriage of our sub- 
ject and his wife, and nine of the inimber lived to years of maturity, 
namely: Thomas F., Annie, Frank E., Edward, Mary, Alice, Richard, 
Jessie, and Sophia, of which number Mary is now deceased. 

In his political views Mr. Gault was first a Whig and afterwards 
became a Douglas Democrat. Since that time he has been unfaltering 
in his support of the Democracy. In 1861 he was elected a member of 
the county board of supervisors and served for one year. In the fall 
of 1861 he received a unanimous vote electing him to the lower house 
of the state legislature, being the only official e\er given the unbroken 
svipport of the people in this way. He served for one term and then 
declined to continue in the office. In 1871, however, he was elected to 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 403 

the state senate and filled tliat position for four years. In 1883 lie was 
again chosen to tlie same ofiice and served for four years. An enumera- 
tion of the men of tlie present generation wlio liave won lion(jr and puh- 
Hc recognition for themselves and at the same time have honored the 
state to which they belong, would be incomplete were there failure to 
make prominent reference to Mr. Gault. He holds distinctive prece- 
dence as a statesman, as well as one of the leading and progressive ag- 
riculturists of his community. He has been and is distinctively a man 
of afifairs and one who has wielded a wide influence, and during his 
service in both branches of the general assembly he left the impress of 
his individuality upon the legislation enacted during those periods. He 
and his family attend the services of the Congregational church and are 
prominent and representati\-e residents of Appanoose county. 



JAMES WILSON. 

The land of the bonnie blueljell and of the immortal Burns has sent 
forth many a worth)- son to the free land across the waters who has been 
an important factor in the industrial, social and political life of this 
countrv, and to have the blood of the sturdy Scotch in one's veins is in 
itself an excellent heritage. .And it is now our pleasure to record the 
career of one who is in e\'ery way an ornament to his adopted land and 
an American citizen in the true sense of the word. The Wilson f:unily 
traces its lineage back to an old Scotch house. James and Janet 
(Young) Wilson were the parents of our immediate subject and were 
both born in Scotland. James Wilson, Sr., was a coal miner and at 
the age of thirt)'-four lost his life by falling down a shaft. To them 
were born eight children, of whom six are still living: one died in in- 



404 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

fancy and a son, Adam, was killed on the western plains in 1863 by the 
Indians. 

James W'ilson was the oldest son and was born in Inveresk parish, 
Mid-Lothian county, Scotland, on the 22d day of September, 1834. 
All the school training that was afforded him was such as he could 
obtain in the first ten years of his life; at the end of that period he be- 
gan his career as a coal miner. In 1854, when twenty years of age, he 
came to America; he landed in New York city; from there went to 
Philadelphia, then on to Baltimore, finally obtaining employment in a 
coal mine in Frostburg, Allegany county, Maryland; after spending a 
short time here he went to St. Louis, Missouri, and worked in a mine, 
then was employed in Warren county, Illinois, and in the fall of 1861 
located in Monmouth, Illinois, where he engaged in mining for twenty- 
one years. He made his arrival in Centerville, Iowa, in 1882, and he 
here bought a local coal mine, which he developed and operated for 
some time, and for a year ran a butcher shop. After this venture he 
bought another mine in Centerville and operated it in connection with 
the Star Coal Company ; later, selling his interest, he became a stock- 
holder in the Anchor Coal Company, in which he only recently dis- 
posed of his interest. From 1889 he has served as superintendent of the 
mines, his wide experience in mining making him invaluable in operat- 
ing and developing the affairs of the company. 

In 1862 Mr. Wilson celebrated his marriage in Monmouth, Illinois, 
to Miss Elizabeth Welsh, who is also a native of Scotland. Six chil- 
dren were born to them: His son, James M., whose sketch also ap- 
pears in this work, is a leading lawyer of Centerville ; a daughter, Janet, 
has been for several years a successful teacher in the schools of Center- 
ville ; another daughter, Isabell, was a private stenographer for Cover- 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 405 

nors F. M. Drake and Leslie M. Shaw during their administrations, and 
now occupies an excellent position in the treasury department under 
the present secretary of the treasury'. About 1856 the widowed mother 
of our subject came with her children to America and here spent the re- 
maining days of her life, passing away at the age of eighty-three. Mr. 
Wilson stands high in the Masonic order, ha\'ing taken the thirty-second 
degree. He is in every sense of the word a self-made man, and this 
has come to be the very highest distinction tliat can be conferred upon 
a democratic, liberty-loving American. 



JAMES M. WILSON. 

Marked success has been the attendant of James M. Wilson 
throughout his brief but brilliant career, and when we consider the fact 
that he is not yet at the meridian of life it is not difficult to predict 
still greater achievements for him in the future. As the history of his 
father's family has been reviewed above, it will not be here necessary to 
recapitulate. 

James M. Wilson was ushered into the world on September 8. 
1866, near the city of Monmouth, Warren county, Illinois, the son of 
Scotch parents, James and Elizabeth (Welsh) Wilson; he is one of four 
living children. His first training was gained in the common schools, 
and when his father came to Centerville in 1882, he was employed as 
weigh-master in the coal mine with which liis father was connected, 
but he later attended the Centerville high school and graduated in 18S5 ; 
he then entered and spent two years in Monmouth College. Ufpon his 
return home he was engaged in several occupations before his mind was 
fully centered; for a time he railroaded, for one year was clerk in 



400 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

United States railway mail ser\ice, then took up teachmg for awhile, 
being employed near home one winter and for a year taught in Ver- 
sailles. Illinois ; in all these pursuits he displayed much versatility, thor- 
oughness and ability. He then began the study of law imder Hon. T. 
M. Fee; in 1896 he graduated in the law department of the Iowa State 
University as president of a class of one hundred and three members. 
He had been admitted to the bar in 1895 and has since carried on a good 
practice in Centerville. Mr. Wilson has taken an active part in politics 
and for fifteen years has been one of the popular speakers at the various 
political meetings. In 1896, as the candidate of the Republican party, 
he was elected county attorney and received a re-election in the fall of 
1898; previously he had served two years as city attorney of Centerville. 
In 1901-1902 he was reading clerk of the state C(jnvention held in Iowa. 
His official record was an excellent one. 

Mr. Wilson is prominent in the fraternal orders, being a Knight 
Templar. Ro}-aI Arch Mason, having served as high priest of Euclid 
Chapter No. 43, and a Mystic Shriner; also a Knight of Pythias, and 
he is a member of the judiciary committee of the state Knights of 
Pythias grand lodge. On December 24, 1891. he married Flora M. 
White, a daughter of J. A. White, a prominent citizen of Centerville. 
They have two children, Eva, born October 13, 1892. and Jean, born 
July 12. 1894. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson are members of the Methodist 
church and stand high in the regard of their many friends and ac- 
quaintances. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 407 

HENRY GAULT. 

The Gaiilt homestead, situated a short distance north of Cincin- 
nati, is one of the most attractive as weH as vahiable of the man\' beau- 
tiful estates in Appanoose county. Consisting of seven hundred and 
fifty acres of the fine farming land for which Iowa is noted, cultivated 
by the most modern methods known to scientific agriculture, and orna- 
mented with a variety of buildings of tasteful architecture, it is difficult 
to imagine a more alluring picture than that presented by this superb 
country seat. At this happy home dwell the widow and children of the 
man by whose industry and wise management the property was accum- 
ulated and improved within less than thirty years, and concerning whose 
life and work it is the intention to communicate a few particulars in 
this brief biography. The late proprietor was not a man of show nor in 
any sense a spectacular or sensational character, his achievements being 
all wrought out by quiet means and never with sound of trumpets. 
So his story presents no dramatic incidents or details out of the ordinary 
such as might be expected in the peaceful pursuits characteristic of a 
farmer's life. 

Henry Gault was born in Ireland, October 6, 1833, and as sketches 
of his parents, Francis and Deborah (McCall) Gault, appear in another 
part of this volume, in the biography of E. J. Gault, it is not necessary 
to repeat the particulars here. They emigrated to this country when 
Henry was quite small and settled in Philadelphia. The boy remained 
at home until seventeen years old and in 1850 went to Wisconsin, where 
he remained for six years. From that state he proceeded on west until 
he reached Appanoose county, Iowa, where he took possession of the 
farm which proved his place of residence until the end of his life. He 
engaged in general farming and stock-raising, and from the beginning 



408 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

made a success of these pursuits, which in its general results partook 
of the phenomenal. In fact, he seemed to have a natural turn for the 
business, and all his moves prospered. He had attained but a limited 
education in youth, but had one of those minds and dispositions that 
are quick to take advantage of opportunities, knowing how to master 
details as well as how to group the latter so as to control general re- 
sults. When his work seemed practically done and an elegant home 
had been provided for his last days, he was called suddenly away from 
the scenes of earthly care and endeavor in such a way as made his death 
a peculiarly sad one. On the 25th of March, 1885. while standing on 
the platform at Moulton and in the act of boarding a train for his home, 
the threads of life suddenly broke asunder and he dropped dead in his 
tracks, from what the physicians pronounced heart failure. So ended 
a useful and. in its way, a remarkable career, which reflects credit of 
the highest order on him who gave it direction and controlled its forces. 
In December, 1855, Mr. Gault was married to Hester, daughter of 
Thomas and Mary Jane McClure, both of whom were natives of Ireland. 
Mrs. Gault's mother died in 1848, and her father in 1878, when eighty- 
two years old. The eight children of Mr. and Mrs. Gault are thus re- 
corded in the family register: Francis, deceased; James R., Debbie, 
Jennie, Harry and William T. ; Frank and Thomas, deceased. Of 
those living, Harry is the only one married, and he and the other chil- 
dren reside with their mother. Mr. Gault, during his lifetime, was a 
member of the Presbyterian church, and his wife also has long affiliated 
with that denomination. His only fraternal connections were with 
Masonry, of which ancient and honorable order he was long an es- 
teemed member. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 409 

E. C. HAYNES. 

One of Centervillc's public-spirited citizens is Coionel Haynes, who 
is now tlie popular postmaster and has an excellent record as soldier in 
the war of the Rebellion, has filled several public offices and has a good 
reputation as a leading lawyer. Colonel Haynes' father, Cyrus 
Haynes, was a native of North Carolina and removed from that state to 
Tennessee in 1811, when only six years old; in that state he grew to 
manhood and then came north to Illinois, where he was married. Ma- 
hala Smith, who became his wife, was born in Kentucky, and in girlhood 
was brought to Illinois by her parents, who went on to Iowa in 1837 
and settled in Van Buren county, before the admission of the territory 
to statehood. After his marriage Cyrus Haynes lived in Illinois till 
185 1 ; his wife died in 1850 and in the following year he came to Iowa 
and located in Appanoose county, where he resided until his removal to 
Missouri about 1868. He died in 1871. 

The birthplace of E. C. Haynes was in McLean county, Illinois. 
where he came into the world on the nth of May, 1844: at the death 
of his mother he came to Iowa and lived with his grandparents in Van 
Buren county; in 1852 he went to his father's home in Appanoose 
county, where he has made his home e\-er since. He enjoyed the ad- 
vantages of the common schools and was in attendance at the Troy 
(Iowa) College, when the Civil war spread its fury over the land. 
.'\mong the first, in May, 1861, he enlisted in the state military service, 
and his companv afterwards became Compan)' D. Sixth Iowa Infantry ; 
his service lasted through the war to July, 1865. At Atlanta, in 1864, 
he was wounded and thereby lost an arm. He entered the war as a 
private and was discharged as first lieutenant. He now retains mem- 



410 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

bership in the John L. Basliaw Post No. 122, Grand Army of the Re- 
pubHc. 

At tlie close of his army service Mr. Haynes took a course in the 
Birmingham (Iowa) College and prepared for his chosen profession of 
the law by attending the Iowa State University. Upon his admission to 
the bar in 1868 he at once began his practice in Centerville, where he con- 
tinued for several years and soon evinced his ability. Because of his 
active participation in politics he was elected in 1868 to the position of 
county recorder and served two terms. He was also chosen mayor of 
Centerville. In the nineteenth general assembly he was chief clerk of 
the Iowa house of representatives. He was first appointed to the place 
of postmaster by President Arthur and has held that office under every 
Republican president since that time. Mr. Haynes is familiarly known 
as "Colonel," which title he has derived from serving as lieutenant col- 
onel under several of the state governors. 

Fraternally Mr. Haynes is connected with the Knights of Pythias, 
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Ancient Order of 
United Workmen. The maiden name of his wife was Elma M. Felk- 
ner, and she is the mother of nine children : Two of the sons served in 
the Spanish-American war, H. C. Haynes being captain of Company 
E, Fiftieth Iowa Infantry, and Glenn C, first sergeant of the same com- 
pany ; the former is now lieutenant colonel of the regiment, while the 
latter is captain of Company E ; three sons are privates in the company ; 
Leo R., E. C, and Fritz; the oldest daughter, Bessie, is a teacher in the 
public schools; Helen is a mailing clerk; the other two children are 
Wilma and Marian. The family is a happy one and add much to the 
social life of the city, being highly esteemed by all. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 411 

EMERY MELVILLE PROBASCO. 

Tlie legal profession is the lodestoiie that attracts many a man of 
keen, brilliant intellect, for in that field lie boundless opportunities for 
wealth, social position and fame. And one of the devotees of the law 
in Appanoose C(nmty and one to whom marked success has come whtfe 
still young, is the attorney whose name heads this article. 

Grandfather Peter Probasco was a native of New Jersey and later 
came west and made a permanent settlement in Putnam county, Mis- 
souri, where he entered land and de\oted almost all the rest of his life 
to farming; toward the end of his life lie started to California to spend 
his last years, but while visiting in Wayne county, Iowa, he passed away, 
being about seventy years of age. He reared a large family, and of this 
was Edward Probasco, the father of our subject. The latter was born 
in New York, came west to Missouri and was a pioneer merchant of 
Mendota, that state: about 1880 he came to .\ppanoose county, Iowa, 
and here pursued farming for ten years: in i8go he removed to Moul- 
ton, where he engaged in the lumber business for a time, but is now 
retired. During the Civil war he served in the Union army for two 
years. While living in Missouri he was married to Malinda R. Mc- 
Connel, a native of Iowa and of Scotch descent; only three children of 
this union arrived at years of maturity. 

Of this parentage Emery Melville Probasco was born in the village 
of Mendota, Putnam county, Mis.souri, September 20, 1871. His child- 
hood and youth were spent on a farm and in the common schools; he 
graduated at the high school at Moulton and also the Highland Park 
Commercial College. Having determined unon the study of law, he was 
graduated in 1897 in the law department of the Iowa State University 
and in June of the same year was admitted to the bar. He then opened 



412 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

up his office in jMoulton and was soon enjoying a good practice. In 
politics Mr. Probasco's lot has been cast with the Republican party, and 
as the candidate of that party he was chosen to the office of county at- 
torney in 1900: on the first day of the following year he entered upon 
hi| duties, at the same time removing to Centerville. He has shown 
much ability in the conduct of this position and now ranks as one of the 
rising lawyers of the county. Mr. Probasco was happily married in 
1901, Miss Anna Nelson of Indianola, Iowa, becoming his wife. 



WILLIAM P. DAVIS. 

William P. Davis, the efficient and popular sheriff of Appanoose 
county, began life as a poor boy and by industrj-, perseverance, and 
thrift has succeeded in building up a modest competence against old 
age, and has so well shown his capacity for action that the people of the 
county have raised him to one of the important offices of trust. His 
parents were Thornton and Nancy Ann (Vestel) Davis, now deceased; 
the father was born in Ohio and the mother in Indiana, in which state 
they were married. After coming to Iowa they settled in Monroe 
county and followed farming the rest of their lives. Nine children were 
born to them, of whom two are now deceased. 

William P. was born on his father's farm in Monroe county, Iowa, 
March 22, 1859. He lived at home until twenty-four years old, helping 
his father with the arduous labors of farm work and attending the dis- 
trict school in the winter. After his marriage he settled on a farm in 
Independence township, Appanoose county, and continued with good 
success in this occupation until he was elected by his Republican par- 
tisans to the office of sheriff in November, 1901 ; he is now serving in 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 413 

that office to the fullest satisfaction of the people. Mr. Davis now owns 
an excellent farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Independence town- 
ship, which is under a fine state of cultivation and has many improve- 
ments. 

In 1S83 Mr. Davis was married to Miss Alma Grance Linch, and 
six children ha\e heen born to them; one son, Delbert, is now acting 
as deputy sheriff. Fraternally he is identified with the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Wood- 
men. He is a member of the Baptist church, while his wife belongs to 
the Christian church. The family are held in high regard in society, 
and the position that Mr. Da\is has gained for himself by his efforts 
is the worthy reward of his unimpeachable character. 



JOSEPH W. BASHAW. 

Joseph W. Bashaw, now deceased, was one of the representative 
business men of Centerville, Iowa, and what he had accomplished in life 
was due to his own efforts and to his persevering industry. In his 
veins there was a liberal mingling of English. French, Irish and Scotch 
blood. His parents were William and Mary Jane (Hull) Bashaw, 
both natives of Virginia; they had nine children and in 1854, when the 
subject of this sketcli was but nine years old, they came west from Vir- 
ginia by wagon to Blakesburg, Wapello county, Iowa, where for several 
years he followed his trade of wagon maker. He died about 1872, 
l>eing fifty-six years old, and his wife survived him about twenty years, 
dying at the age of seventy-five. 

The birth of Joseph occurred in Culjieper county, Virginia, Jan- 
uary 23, 1845. and in the town of Blakesburg he was reared and given 



Hi BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

a common school education. Up to his nineteentli year lie worked in 
his father's shop and tlien went to Ottnnnva, Itjwa. where lie engaged 
in carriage making for four or five years. On returning to Blakesburg 
he married an*d in 1870 came to Centerville, which place he made his 
home for the remainder of his life. He at once opened a carriage shop 
and built up a fine trade; a few years before his death he took his son 
Ernest as partner, and he now conducts the prosperous firm of J. \V. 
Bashaw & Son. Mr. Bashaw's life was ended on February 3. 1902. 
Beginning as a poor man, he was able to lay down his life's work with 
the satisfaction that he had fought a good fight and that he well de- 
served the competence he had earned. 

Politically he was a Democrat ; he was prominent in the Methodist 
church, being one of its officers, and was also identified with the Inde- 
pendent Order of Ofld Fellows. In April, 1867, he was married to 
Nancy Gaston, born in McConnels\'ille, Morgan county. Ohio, in 1848; 
her parents, Alexander and Mary (Cohagan) Gaston, the former a na- 
tive of Ohio and the latter of Virginia, settled in Davis county, Iowa, 
in 1854, and in 1861 located in Blakesburg; her father was a physician 
and surgeon and died in 1882 in Newbern, Marion county, Iowa, but 
the mother is still li\ing and makes her home with her daughter. Mrs. 
Bashaw. Of this marriage there are now five children living: Wil- 
liam is a jeweler in Centerville, J. Ernest is the manager of the firm of 
J. W. Bashaw & Son, Clara L. is an osteopath student at Kirks- 
ville, ?\Iissouri, Frank C. and George Elton. Mrs. Bashaw is a de- 
vout memljer of the Methodist church, and the family is one of the most 
respected in the city. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 415 

JOHN LAZELLE SAWYERS. M. D. 

This name has lieen made famihar to every inhabitant of /\ppanoose 
count}' by the long continued prominence of father and son in the medi- 
cal profession. It seems to be a case of heredity, but at any rate the 
father's great and widespread celebrity has been equalled if not sur- 
passed by his talented son. The two lives together cover a period of 
one-half a century, during which there never was a time when "Dr. 
Sawyers" was not a familiar sound to every citizen of the county. This 
family, now so well known, had its beginning with a poor boy of Ten- 
nessee, who was buffeted by all the waves of "outrageous fortune" in 
youth and early manhood, but e\-entually triumphed after a series of 
struggles that challenged the highest powers of manhood to cope with 
them successfully. 

Elisha Sawyers was born near Nashville, and being left an orphan 
was forced to undergo the hardships as well as humiliations usually con- 
nected with the conditions described as "bound out." During this pe- 
riod he mastered the tailor's trade, married after he regained his busi- 
ness freedom and came with his family to Iowa about 1850. For awhile 
he kept a hotel at Centerville and later one at Unionville, to which place 
he had removed fnr the prosecution of his trade. He lost his wife by 
death in 1854. but li\ed himself to the extreme age of ninety-five years 
and closed his arduous but blameless career at Unionville in 1901. His 
children, in order of birth, are thus recorded in the family register: 
Sylvester H., deceased; Lizzie, deceased; Eugene, lona, David, .\llen 
and Mattie J. 

It was Sylvester Hart well Sawyers, the oldest of the above men- 
tioned children, who became the famous physician and father of physi- 
cians. He was born during the hard years before his parents left 



416 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

Tennessee, but despite narrow circumstances the father managed to 
give his promising boy a fair hterary education. He early developed an 
ardent ambition to become a doctor and was still a boy when he took up 
the study of medicine, .'\fter his parents came to Appanoose county 
he entered vigorously into the practice and soon acquired a- local, fol- 
lowed by a state reputation, in the profession. This distinguished phy- 
sician married Mary F. Miller, by whom he had ten children : John 
Lazelle, Mary Lillian, Kate C, deceased; Sylvester H.. Ralph, de- 
ceased; Clyde E., Emma, Ada, Zelma and Frank. The father died in 
1890, but the mother still presides over the hospitable home in Union- 
ville, an object of devoted affection from her loving children and esteem 
from her numerous friends. 

John Lazelle Sawvers, oldest of the children and destined successor 
of his father in medical fame, was born at the ancestral home in Union- 
ville, Tidy 18. 1856. His early education was obtained in the local 
schools and under a private tutor, with \\hich groundwork he began the 
study of medicine in his father's office when eighteen years old. It is 
needless to say that he made rapid progress under such able preceptor- 
ship and was soon cjualified to grapple with the higher branches taught 
only at the special schools for this purpose. He first went to the Chi- 
cago Medical College, but in 1S76 entered the Kentucky School of Medi- 
cine at Louisville, where he obtained a degree in the following June, 
and received the prize for surgery and a gold medal for general \no- 
flciency in all the branches of medicine. After his graduation he prac- 
ticed in partnership with his father at Unionville until the fall of 1877, 
when he returned to the Chicago Medical College and was graduated in 
that institution in the class of 1878. During the winter preceding his 
graduation he had been appointed physician at the C(M)k County Hos- 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 417 

pital, wliere he remained for twenty-two months and derived much ad- 
vantage from the methcal training to be derived from such a position. 
In 1879 Dr. Sawyers returned to his old liome at Unionville, where he 
resumed and continued practice for about one year. In 1880 he went 
aliroad and spent nearl\' two years in the old world, most of his time be- 
ing occupied in attending clinical lectures at the various hospitals of 
Vienna, Austria. During his absence Dr. Sawyers visited many parts 
of France and Germany and spent some time also at the most celebrated 
resorts in Italy and Switzerland. His tour was suddenly interrupted 
and he called home by the severe illness of his father, which w^as at first 
thought to be fatal. But he recovered and in partnership with his son., 
after the latter's return from Europe, practiced medicine until 1883. In 
that year the _\ounger Dr. Sawyers separated from his father and located 
at Centerville, where he soon gained a large and lucrative practice and 
rose rapidly to prominence in his profession. In fact, his fame soon 
spread beyond the confines of his nati\'e county, his skill as a physician 
and surgeon attracting many patients from a distance, and he has often 
been called into consultation in important cases over a wide territory, 
both in Iowa and Missouri. The Doctor is a member of the Des Moines 
Valley Medical Society, the Iowa State Medical Society and the Ameri- 
can Medical Association. 

In 1883 Dr. Sawyers was united in marriage with Miss Jennie, 
daughter of Ex-Governor F. M. Drake, of Centerville, and to this union 
three children have been born. The jjarents are members of the Chris- 
tian church and the Doctor is prominent in Masonry, having reached the 
Knight Templar degree. After the foregoing details it is hardly neces- 
sary to add that Dr. Sawyers and bis family enjoy a warm welcome in 
the best social circles at Centerville and other cities of the state. 



418 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

JOHN CRATON McDONALD. 

One of the most successful, enterprising and progressive business 
men of Cincinnati is John Craton McDonald. \\'ith him success in life 
has been reached by his sterling qualities of mind and heart, his manly 
principles, by unfaltering determination, by unflagging industry and by 
a diligence that has enabled him to persist in a course which he has 
marked out. We read of the lives of the heroes of the past, and they 
not only prove of historical interest, but serve to inspire and encourage 
us. Yet we need not go to former ages for examples well worthy of 
emulation. The men of prominence today equal in exemplar)- traits 
of character those who have passed away, and the life record of Mr. 
McDonald is one which proves what may be accomplished with indi- 
vidual effort when guided l)y sound judgment and correct business prin- 
ciples. 

Mr. McDonald was born in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, July 13, 
1845, and is a son of Daniel and Mary (Stewart) McDonald. The 
father was born in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, on the loth of March, 
1814, and was a son of John and Mary (Uber) McDonald. The 
grandfather of our subject was a native of Westmoreland county, Penn- 
sylvania, and when a young man removed to Mercer county, that state, 
where he spent his remaining days, dying at the age of sixty years. 
He served as a soldier in the war of 1812, against the Indians in Ohio. 
His father was William McDonald, who emigrated from Scotland and 
settled in Pennsylvania. He had Init two children, J(jhn and Susan. 
John McDonald was united in marriage to Mary Uber, who was a na- 
tive of Pennsylvania and was descended from an old Hessian family 
that settled in the Keystone state soon after the Revolutionary war. 
Among their children was Daniel McDonald, the father of our sub- 




JOHN c. Mcdonald. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 421 

ject. wlin was reared in tlie state of his nativity and after arriving- at 
years of maturit}- wedded Mary Stewart, who was b<jrn Septeml)er 15, 
18 1 6. in c<nmt\- Londonderry, Ireland, and was a daughter of Craton 
and Nancy (Sloan) Stewart. Her father was a son of Sir John Stew- 
art, whose father was a son i>f Walter Stewart and a cousin of King 
Charles the Second, and removed from England to county Antrim, 
Ireland, in 1648. In the year 1816 Craton Stewart emigrated to the 
United States and settled in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania. There 
he spent his remaining days and it was in that county that the parents 
of our subject married on the 25th of November, 184 1. They took 
up their abode in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, and there lived until 
April, 1852, during which time six children were born to tliem. With 
their family they then removed westward, locating in Lee county, Iowa, 
and in March, 1854, came to ^Appanoose comity, Iowa, settling in Cin- 
cinnati, where they resided until called to their final rest. The father 
was a well-to-do farmer, carrying on his work along progressive lines 
and thereby securing a good competence. In politics he was first a 
Whig and then a Free Soiler. Later he advocated the cause of the 
Abolition party and when the Republican party was formed to prevent 
the further extension of slavery he joined its ranks and became one of 
its stalwart advocates. Both he and his wife were members of the 
Presbyterian church in early life. l)ut afterward became identified with 
the Congregational church. Eight children were born to them, of 
whom one died in infancy, while seven reached years of maturity, 
namely: Mrs. Nancy Sloan Baker, who died May 12, 1894; Mrs. 
Mary Lucetta Root, of Centerville, Iowa; John C, of this review; 
Albert Clark, of Cincinnati, Iowa; Mrs. Eliza Josephine McCann, who 
died November 26, 1900; Mrs. Harriet Beecher David, of Cincinnati, 



422 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

and Wilber Sumner, who is associated with his brother, John 
C, in business. The mother of these children passed away on 
the i8th of May, 1878, and on the 19th of April, 1895, t'l^ father was 
called to his final rest. 

John Craton McDonald was born and reared upon the farm and 
w-as seven years of age when brought to Iowa. When a }-outh of nine 
years he became a resident of Appanoose county, where his home has 
since been. He acquired a common school education and assisted in the 
task of improving his father's farm. In April, 1863, feeling that the 
country needed his services, he joined the Union army, enlisting as a 
private of Company E, Seventh Iowa Cavalry, for a term of three 
years. He served against the Indians on the plains and was honorably 
discharged on the 17th of May, 1866, with the rank of sergeant major 
of his regiment. He is fiow a member of Henry Jaquiss Post No. 325, 
G. A. R., and thus maintains pleasant relationship with his old army 
comrades and has spent many a social hour with them recalling scenes 
which occurred upon the tented fields or in the midst of battle. 

Upon his return from the war Mr. McDonald resumed farming 
and was thus engaged in connection with his father until 1870. In 
that year he was married and began life as a farmer upon his own ac- 
count, continuing the cultivation of the soil for about ten years. In 
1880 he embarked in the furniture and undertaking business in connec- 
tion with his brother, A. C. McDonald, and in 1882 they also added a 
lumberyard to their enterprise. In the same year the father became a 
partner, but in 1885 our subject purchased both his father's and his 
brother's interest and continued alone in business until 1888. In that 
year his brother, Wilber S., became his partner, and the business has 
since been carried on under the firm name of J. C. McDonald & Brother. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 423 

They have enjoyed a liberal and growing patronage as fnrniture and 
lumber merchants, their sales being quite extensive. On the ist of 
April, 1889, they also widened the scope of their labor by entering the 
banking business under the firm name of J. C. McDonald & Brother, 
bankers. In 1898 they established the Citizens' Bank, the subject of 
this review acting as president, while Wilber S. McDonald is filling 
the position of cashier. Our subject also has some farming interests, 
and the various branches of his business are returning to him excellent 
profits. 

In 1870 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. McDonald and Miss 
Mary Boyles, a daughter of John P. Boyles. She was born in Belmont 
county, Ohio, September 22, 1846, and died March 30, 1895, leaving 
one child, while five children born to them had passed to the home be- 
yond. The one that was living at the death of the mother was Cath- 
erine, and she subsequently died at the age of twenty-five years. In 
1896 Mr. McDonald was again married, his second union being with 
Miss Alice Reed, of Jackson. Michigan. In 1890 he erected a large 
and handsome modern frame residence in Cincinnati. It is one of the 
most tasteful homes in this part of the state and would be a credit to a 
city of much greater size than the one in which Mr. McDonald makes 
his home. In his political views he is a Republican and fraternally is a 
Master Mason and an Odd Fellow, having taken all three of the degrees 
in the latter organization. He likewise belongs to the Congregational 
church. His unswerving purpose, his unquestioned fidelity, his un- 
faltering honesty and his unchanging will have commanded tiie highest 
respect of all. He has been a leader in the cause of liberty, freedom 
and progress, and his hearty co-operation has ever been given to that 
which tends to elevate mankind. 



424 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

JOH\ M. STURDIVANT, M. D. 

John M. Sturdivant, M. D.. wiio is engaged successfully in the 
practice of medicine and surgery in Cincinnati, receives a liberal patron- 
age, which is the public tribute to his skill and ability. He also has the en- 
dorsement of his professional friends and commands respect and confi- 
dence wherever he goes. He was born in the town which is still his 
home, his natal day being January 14, 1866. His father, the late Dr. 
John I\I. Sturdivant. Sr.. is represented on another page of this vol- 
ume. The son remained a resident of Cincinnati until he was sixteen 
years of age. when his parents removed to Centerville. Iowa, and in the 
schools of the two towns he was educated, acquiring a g(xxl literary 
knowledge to serve as a foundation upon which to rear the superstruc- 
ture of professional learning. He took up the study of medicine in his 
father's office and remained under his instruction for two years. On 
the expiration of that period he entered the College of Physicians and 
Surgeons at Keokuk. Iowa, and was graduated in tliat institution in 
March. 1887. He then lijcated in Earlton. Kansas, where he practiced 
until June, 1890, when he returned to Centerville. At that time he be- 
came associated with his father, with whom he remained until the lat- 
ter's death. He continued in practice in Centerville. however, until 
iSqj, when he came to Cincinnati. This has since been his home, and 
he has enjoyed a large and growing practice, which has made constant 
demands upon his time, energies and attention. He is continually 
broadening his knowledge through reading and research and has also 
gained new ideas through the interchange of thought by his membership 
in the Putnam County (Missouri) Medical Society and of the North- 
eastern Missouri ]\ledical Society. 

In 1889 Dr. Sturdivant was united in marriage to Miss Allie Can- 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 425 

non, of Kansas, and they now liave two sons, John M. and Byron Earl. 
Their home is celebrated for its gracious and pleasing hospitality, which 
is much enj()\'e(l In- their man\' friends. The Doctor is a Democrat in 
his political alifiliations, and is a prominent Mason, having attained to 
the Knight Templar degree in that order. Entering a profession where 
advancement depends entirely upon in(li\-idual merit and upon broad 
learning, he has gained a position of considerable distinction and well 
deserves mention among the representati\e citizens of his part of the 
state. 

wiLBER s. McDonald. 

One of the leading and representative business men of Cincinnati 
is Wilber S. McDonald, a member of the firm of J- C. McDonald & 
Company, dealers in furniture and lumljcr. Thev are also bankers, and 
the subject of this review is acting as cashier of the Citizens' Bank, the 
success of this institution being largely due to his efforts and capabilitv. 
He was born in Cincinnati on the 29th of April, 1856. and is a son of 
Daniel and Mary (Stewart) McDonald, who are mentioned in connec- 
tion with the sketch of J. C. McDonald on another page of this work. 
He was reared upon a farm and the educational advantages afforded him 
were those provided by the common schools. He remained upon the old 
homestead until twenty-five years of age. In 1884 he went to Green 
City, Missouri, being preceded to that place only by the station agent. 
He built the first house and became tlie first merchant there and also the 
first real estate dealer, and in his business operations he prospered, his 
sales of lands and of goods bringing to him a s^ood financial return. 
Mr. McDonald remained there until 1886, when he went to Greencastle, 
Missouri, where he resided for two vears. and acted as foreman of a 



•i26 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

large hoop and railroad tie company. In 1888, however, lie returned to 
Cincinnati, and since that time has been associated with liis brother in 
business as a banker, lumberman and furniture dealer. As cashier of 
the Citizens' Bank he has thoroughl)- mastered the business in all its de- 
partments. He has become a popular official because of his obliging 
manner and unfailing courtesy, combined with excellent business ability 
and executive force. 

In 1882 Mr. McDonald was united in marriage to Miss Louisa 
Phillips, of Sullivan county, Missouri, and they now have four children : 
George S., Wendall Phillips, M. John, and Cora Marie. The parents 
hold membership in the Congregational church and have a nice home in 
Cincinnati. Mr. McDonald is a Republican and keeps well informed on 
the issues of the day, and is thus enabled to support his position by intel- 
ligent argument. Prominent as a Knight Templar Mason, in his life 
he exemplifies the benevolent and helpful spirit of the craft. Through 
his own exertions he has attained an honorable and marked prestige 
among the representati\e business men of his native town, and with 
equal consistency it may be said that he is the architect of his own for- 
tunes and one whose success amply justifies the application of the some- 
what hackneyed but most expressive title, "a self-made man." 



WILLIAM H. STEVENSON, M. D. 

The world instinctively pays deference to the man whose success 
has been worthily achieved, who has attained wealth by honorable busi- 
ness metb.ods, acquired a high reputation in his chosen calling by merit, 
and whose social prominence is not less the result of an irreproachable 
life than of recognized natural gifts. Mr. Stevenson is one who in the 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 427 

practice of medicine lias gained envial^le distinction, being today recog- 
nized as one of the leading memliers of his profession in this part of 
Appanoose count}-. lie is now living in Cincinnati, where for almost 
twenty years he has made his home, and in addition to the care which he 
gives to a large general practice he is also conducting a drug store which 
he established about cle\en }ears ago. 

The Doctor was born in the town of Castine, Darke county, Ohio, 
on the 13th of November, 185 1, and is a son of Parkhill John and Mary 
(Gunder) Stevenson. The father was l)orn in Fayette county, Penn- 
sylvaia. and was a son of Henry Stevenson, who was likewise a native 
of the Keystone state and was of Scotch-Irish ancestry. Leaving 
Pennsylvania, Henrv Stevenson removed to Darke county, Ohio, and 
thence to Iowa, first settling in \\'apello county. About 1856 he came 
to Appanoose county, taking up his abode in Franklin township, where 
he lived for many years, making farming his occupation, and died when 
about eighty-seven years of age. The Doctor's father was married in 
Ohio, having accompanied his parents to that state in his youth. He 
wedded Miss Mary Gunder, who was born in Darke county, and was a 
daughter of ^^'illiam Henry Gunder, of Pennsylvania Dutch descent. 
At an early epoch in the devel(5pment of Darke county he had located 
there and made his home in that community throughout his remaining 
days. It was in 1868 that the Doctor's parents removed from Ohio to 
Appanoose county, Iowa, settling in I<"ranklin township, and four years 
later they took up their abode in Cincinnati, where the father is now liv- 
ing at the advanced age of seventy-seven years, while the mother has 
reached the psalmist's span of three-score years and ten. Parkhill 
Stevenson is a shfiemaker by trade and throughout his entire business 
career has carried (jii his work along tliat line. A man of sterling 



428 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

worth, he has always been honorable and straightforward in business 
and has commanded the respect and confidence of those with whom he 
has been associated. In the family were six children, one of whom is 
deceased. 

Dr. Stevenson, the eldest child, spent the first seventeen years of 
his life in the state of his nativity and then accompanied his parents to 
Iowa. He, too, laid the foundation of his education in the public schools 
of Darke county, Ohio, and after his removal westward became a stu- 
dent in Christian College at Oskaloosa, Iowa, where he gained a liberal 
literarv education, and when nineteen years of age he began teaching 
school and followed that profession successfully for some time, alternat- 
ing his work as an educator with periods of study through several years. 
In the meantime he took up the study of medicine under the direction 
of Dr. John M. Sturdivant of Cincinnati, Iowa, and after reading with 
him for a time entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Chi- 
cago. In 1S84 he entered upon the practice of medicine in this city, 
where he has since been located and where he has enjoyed a constantly 
growing patronage. About eleven years ago he also established a drug 
store, which he has since conducted in connection with his medical prac- 
tice. 

In 1875 ^^^ Doctor was united in marriage to Miss Matilda White, 
a native of Wapello county, Iowa, and to them have been born three 
children, but Frank, the eldest, is now deceased. The others are Lil- 
lian L. and .Vrthur P.. who are still with their parents. In his social 
relations the Doctor is a Master Mason and is also connected with the 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His time and energies are largely 
devoted to his practice, although in matters of citizenship he is pro- 
gressive and public spirited. Greater than in almost any other line of 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 429 

work is tlie respoiisiliility that rests upmi the physician. Tlie issues 
of Hfe and death are in his hands. A false prescription, an unsi<illed op- 
eration mav take from man tliat wliich lie prizes above all else, life. 
The physician's power must he his own. Xot by purchase, by gift or 
by influence can he gain it. He must commence from the Iieginning, 
learn the rudiments of medicine and surgery and continually add to his 
knowledge by close study and earnest application and gain his reputation 
bv merit. If he can reach prominence it must come as a result of skill, 
knowledge and ability, and these (|ualifications are jrossessed in a large 
degree bv Dr. Stevenson, who occupies a most enviable position in the 
ranks of his chosen profession. 



SOLOMON HOLBROOK. 

The gentleman above named is one of the oldest residents in the 
state. When he came here Iowa was still a territory, its admission to 
the Union not occurring until six years after Mr. Holbrook's arrival. 
When he first trod the elastic prairie sod of Iowa in 1840 there were 
only a little over fort}-three tliousand people in the territory, whereas 
there are now several million in the state. In addition to being a 
pioneer of pioneers, Mr. Holbrook has another claim to distinction. He 
was one of the four men who founded and laid out the town of Cin- 
cinnati and is the only survivor of the quartette. This occurred nearly 
fifty years ago, and altogether it will be seen that Mr. Holbrook is a 
very interesting man to know, if one would hear good stories and gain 
information alxnit the times of long ago, when the now mighty western 
commonwealths were still in their swaddling clothes. He has lived 
through the most interesting period of American history, and his career 



i30 BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

was coincident with many of the most dramatic and epoch-making 
events in the United States. As he is one of a class especially deserving 
of honor, but of whom few now remain, it is peculiarly appropriate that 
sometiiing should be said of his origin and career in a book devoted to 
the representati\e men of Appanoose county. 

Tlie family was long identified with Connecticut, and there Elias 
and Eliza (Reed) Holbrook were born. They came to Iowa in 1839, 
where they spent the remaining days of their lives until called to rest 
many years ago. They were typical natives of this famous New Eng- 
land state, of quiet, industrious habits, strictly moral and devoted mem- 
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church and regardful of every duty in 
all the relations of life. The wife died in 1857, and the husband sur- 
vived her on!}- a few years, his death occurring at the beginning of the 
Civil war, when he was eighty-one years old. The children of this east- 
ern couple consisted of two sons: Luther R., now deceased, and Solo- 
mon Holbrook. The latter was born at Tolland, Connecticut, June 8, 
1822, and he remained at home until the completion of his eighteenth 
3'ear. Yankee boys, however, are apt to think their home a cage and 
early become restless with desire to try their fortunes in "the wide, wide 
world." In this spirit, like so many other "down easterners" before 
and since, young Holbrook left the parental roof in 1840 and started on 
the then long journey to the territory of Iowa. He first settled in Lee 
county, where he followed farming and stock-raising, but five years 
later removed to Appanoose county and located in Pleasant township. 
In 1853, together with his brother, Luther R. Holbrook, and Daniel and 
John McDonald, he assisted in laying out the town of Cincinnati, which 
at its birth contained a schoolhouse, postoffice and blacksmith shop as 



its only stock of municipal buildings. All the original founders, save 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 431 

Mr. Holbrook, liave long since passed to their reward, and peculiar in- 
terest attaches to liim as the sole survivor of that pioneer period. 

In 1845 ^^'■- HolI)rook was united in marriage with Mary Ann 
Welsh, and all their seven children are living except John R., the eldest 
son, who died in Andersonville prison during the Civil war. The other 
six are Oliver K., Ida May, Ellis R., Perry S., William and Florence J. 
Mr. Holbrook's political affiliations were always strongly anti-slavery, 
and his feelings on this subject made him cast his first presidential vote 
for John P. Hale, who ran on wliat was called the Free Soil ticket in 
1832 with George W. Julian of Indiana. This movement was really 
the precursor of the Republican part}-, and after it was organized Mr. 
Holbrook became and has remained one of its steadfast advocates. His 
only fraternal connections are with the Masons, of which ancient and 
honorable order he has long been an esteemed member. 



HENRY HAMMOND BAKER. 

One can hardly pass the blacksmith shop in Cincinnati, Iowa, with- 
out involuntarily recalling Longfellow's poetic tribute to the "Village 
Blacksmith," and the robust genius who presided over its busy bellows. 
A? the poem indicates, there is something about an establishment of 
this kind that suggests health and strength and honesty. Tlie occupation 
itself is very health-giving, the charcoal business being regarded as a 
specific for lung disorders, and the whole atmosphere of the ])lace is 
calculated to inspire kindly and friendly feelings. The blacksmith is 
the farthest possible removed from feebleness or debilitation of any 
kind, and is usuall}- an optimist by nature, the very sight of whom is sure 
to drive away the worst case of "blues. " The little shop at Cincinnati 



432 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

which suggested these reflections was Ijuilt liy A[r. Baker nearly fifty 
years ago. and is now the oldest structure in the town. It was in fact 
the pioneer of its kind, being made of hewn lumber taken from the 
banks of Shoal creek, and its pnfiing bellows and musical an\-il were tht 
first sounds of that kind to awaken the echoes around this new-liorn 
Iowa village. Having said so much aljout his shop it will now he in 
order to tell something of the man who built it and has conducted it so 
long, and such particulars as could be obtained will be found herein set 
forth. 

In the early part of the nineteenth century there li\ed in Allegany 
county, Maryland, a worthy couple whose names were Henry Penning- 
ton and Catherina (Hammond) Baker. Henry was a carpenter by 
trade, but found it no easy task to provide Ijy the proceeds from his trade 
for the large and constantly increasing family which relied upon him 
for support. He was a man of exemplary habits and tireless industry, 
but times were rather hard in ^Maryland in those days and eventually the 
Bakers decided to seek a better field in the distant west. They went as 
far as Ohio, where they resided a number of }-ears. and in 1853 re- 
moved to Appanoose county, Iowa, where a settlement was made on a 
farm two miles from the site of the present town of Cincinnati. But 
the father did not live long to enjoy his new home surroundings, as his 
death occurred in November. 1855, two years after his arrival in the 
state, and in the fifty-fourth year of his age. Of his twehe children 
those living are Henry H.. Taylor and Eliza, and those deceased are 
Perry D., John K., Jacob. Catheryn. Hiram. Susan. Mary .■Xnn, Marvin 
T., and Oliver T. 

Henry Hammond Baker, the second in age of this family, was 
born in .\llegany county. Mar_\lan(l. August 5. 1830. and was a mere 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 433 

lad when liis parents located at Millwood. Ohio. He grew up in this 
town and in Newcastle, Init educational facilities were poor at that 
time and he receixed hut a scant amount of the kind of learning to be 
obtained from books. When old enough he learned the blacksmith's 
trade, and for three years worked in a shop at Columbus. In 1853 he 
accompanied his father to Appanoose county. Iowa, and located in 
Pleasant township, a little east of where Cincinnati now stands. He 
opened a shop shortly after his arrival, but as soon as the village was 
founded he mo\ed to that point and put up the building alluded to in 
the remarks introducing this memoir. As therein stated, it was the 
first blacksmith shop at Cincinnati, and any one curious in examining 
ancient landmarks will find this interesting relic of the past still standing 
in the rear of the McDonald Bank. He will also become acquainted 
with the worthy proprietor, who. though now past seventy-two years of 
age. still conducts business as of old. and is yet able to shoe a horse or 
mend a tool with the best of them. 

In April. 1853, Mr. Baker was married in Ohio to Penelope Head, 
who died in i860, leaving three children: Penelope J.. Ella and An- 
gehna. deceased. In 1862, after his removal to Cincinnati, he married 
Mary Ann, daughter of James and Martha Boley. and by this union 
there were seven children : James J., Henry G., Minnie, Mary. Chester, 
Harlan and Carl, the last three being deceased. All of the living are 
married with the exception of Henry. After the death of his second 
wife Mr. Baker contracted a third matrimonial alliance with Nancy, 
widow of Henry Jaquiss and daughter of Daniel McDonald, one of 
the founders of the town of Cincinnati. She died May 12, 1895. Mr. 
Baker is prominently connected with Masonry, being a member of the 
lodge, chapter, commandery. council and Mystic Shrine. 



iU BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

CHANCELLOR J. BROWER. 

A very active life has been that of the subject of this sketch, em- 
bracing a range of varied employment from soldiering to teaching and 
from official positions in connection with education to tenure of place 
in the government civil service. But it is principally on his achieve- 
ments as an educator that ]\Ir. Brower rests his claims to recognition, 
and these alone would entitle him to honorable mention in any history 
devoted to representative men of Iowa. Tn fact all his life has been de- 
voted to worthy causes, his work usually being along business which 
brought more benefit to others than himself, this remark being especially 
applicable to his long and efficient services in educating the rising gen- 
erations. 

The family is of mixed northern and southern origin, but moved 
west so long before the Ci\il war as to be thoroughly indoctrinated with 
the loyal view on all questions leading up to that memorable struggle. 
Jeremiah Brower, who was born and bred in New York, married a 
North Carolina lady who had spent the early years of life in her native 
state. Shortly after their marriage in North Carolina, Jeremiah and 
Nancy W. Brower removed to Marion county, IMissouri, where they 
made their home about twenty years. In 1850 the family changed resi- 
dence to Center\-ille, Iowa, where the father practiced medicine three 
years, and then moved to Wayne county, where he continud his profes- 
sional work until compelled to retire by the infirmities of old age. His 
death occurred in 1876 and two years later his widow took up her resi- 
dence in Oregon, where she spent the remainder of her days. Their 
children, nine in number, are thus recorded in order of birth in the fam- 
ily register: Julia Ann. Chancellor J.. Elizabeth, Elias, William, Emily, 
Amelia, Albert G., and Buchanan. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 435 

Cliancellor J. Brower, second of the family, in age, was lx)rn in 
Marion county, Missouri, March 30, 1835. and was consequently fifteen 
years old when taken by his parents to Iowa. After an attendance of 
some years in the common schools of Centerville he entered the Phila- 
delphia Universit}', where he was graduated in 18C7, securing two de- 
grees, A. B. and A. M. On April 2. 1862, he had enlisted in Company 
F, Seventeenth Regiment, Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and served with 
this command nine months, at the end of which time he was honorably 
discharged for disability. His service was with the army of the west 
and among the more important engagements in which he took part was 
the battle of luka, Mississippi, on Septem1:)er 19, 1862, and the one at 
Corinth, October 4, of the same year. After obtaining his release from 
the army Mr. Brower returned to Iowa and taught school several years 
in Appanoose county, and gradual!}- established a reputation as an ex- 
perienced educator. 

In 1886 he received an appointment in the civil service department 
of the government at Washington and served two years in the field as 
a special examiner. In 1891 he was appointed professor of mathematics 
and natural sciences at Muskogee, Indian Territory, and discharged 
the duties of this position about three years. In the spring of 1894 he 
went to Jackson, Mississippi, and spent two years as a professor of 
mathematics and physics, but failing health caused him to relincjuish 
this employment and retiu^n to Iowa. In 1897 he resumed teaching at 
Centerville and in 1900 was elected superintendent of the Tama City, 
Iowa, public schools, which position he held a year and then retired from 
active business life. 

In 1858 Mr. Brower was united in marriage with Miss Tursey J., 
daughter of William and Ellen Hamilton, now deceased. The two chil- 



436 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

dren of this union were Hattie and Luella. the latter dying in infancy. 
During the greater part of liis life Mr. Brower has been a believer in re- 
ligion and for forty years has been a member of the ^Missionary Baptist 
church at Centerville. He is also prominent in fraternity circles, hold- 
ing membership in several of the best known orders, including the va- 
rious branches of Masonr}'. from the blue lodge to the Mystic Shrine; in 
the Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias and Grand Army of the Republic. 
Mr. Brower has performed his duty faithfully in all the relations of life, 
as soldier, teacher, religious worker, and in his retirement is justly en- 
titled to that kindliest reward; "Well done, thou good and faithful 
servant." 

OBADIAH LAWTON. 

The above named, now living in retirement at Mystic, spent the 
greater portion of a long life in the arduous and trying work of coal 
mining. He may be said to have inherited this calling, as his father, 
James Lawton, was a miner in England many years ago and continued 
that occupation until the end of his life. He was a religious man and a 
strict member of the Anglican W'esleyan Methodist church, his life 
being of sucli an exemplary character as to prove an example to his fel- 
low miners. He married Ann Cooper and their seven children were 
Robert, John, Ralph, William, James, Rachel and Obadiah, none of 
whom are now living except the last mentioned. 

Obadiah Lawton, youngest of the family, was born in Staffordshire, 
England, March 25, 1826, and in October, 1854, lost his father by death. 
Finding little to encourage him in his native land, Obadiah resolved to 
emigrate, and when sidl a lad found himself in the United States search- 
ing for a job. Naturally he turned towards the mining regions, and 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 437 

succeeded in getting' work in tiie coal mines of \\'est \'irginia, wliicli 
for man}' years was continued in tlie coal-producing sections of Penn- 
s}-lvania and Illinois. Ha\-ing wearied of this employment and saved 
some mone_\-, Mr. Lawton came in 1881 to Iowa and settled in Ap- 
panoose county near Brazil. Eleven years after his arrival in the 
county he t(X)k up his abode in the town of Mystic and since 1891 has 
lived a retired life in that place. As the result of industrious habits 
and nuich hard work, Mr. Lawton has laid up a sum sufficient to make 
him comfortable for life and to assist his children, some of his prop- 
erty consisting in farm land in Appanoose county. In 1857 he was 
married to Agnes Brown, and the children by this union are thus re- 
corded : Mary Ann, deceased; Jennie, Maggie, Lizzie, Lena, Sarah. 
Robert, James. \\'illiam, David and Obadiah. 

FRANCIS M. WELLS. 

This gentleman, who is now living in retirement at Piano, is en- 
titled to entrance to the class known as early settlers of Iowa, his resi- 
dence in the state having extended over thirty-five years. He is a na- 
tive of Pennsylvania and a son of Benjamin L. and Sophia (Coon) 
Wells, a worth}- and unpretentious couple who spent all the days of theii 
lives within the borders of the Keystone state. Benjamin Wells was a 
farmer by occupation, what was then known as a Free Soiler in politics, 
and in religion rather inclined toward the Methodist church, of which 
his wife was a devout memljer. The latter died in 185 1. when aljout 
forty-eight years old, and after sur\i\ing her a number of years the 
husband passed away in 1863 at the age of sixty. 

Their son. Francis M. Wells, was born in Greene county, Penn- 
sylvania. Februarv i, 1832. and remained at home until a vear or two 



438 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

past his majority. After reaching liis twenty-third year, he determined 
to strike out for himself, and going to IlHnois engaged in the carpenter's 
trade. At Bureau in that state he became acquainted with Christina 
Anderson, and this acquaintance ripened into marriage in 1857, after 
which the couple still continued to reside in Illinois about ten years. 
In 1867 Mr. Wells remo\ed to Appanoose county. Iowa, obtained pos- 
session of some land in Johns township and for many years thereafter 
devoted his whole time to its cultivation. His wife died in 1871, leav- 
ing four children: Henry Clay, Mandana, Emma, deceased; William 
Sherman. In 1872 Mr. W'ells married Lydia A. Hinegardner, whose 
two children, Byron and Daniel R., are now dead. In 1893 Mr. Wells 
and family removed to Piano, where he has since lived in retirement, 
and there his second wife died July 22. 1902. She was a good woman, 
of devout religious temperament, and all her life she belonged to the 
Christian church, of which Mr. Wells himself is also a member. His 
political predilections have always been Republican, though he has 
neither sought nor held office, and his fraternal connections are con- 
fined to membership in the Masonic order. 



JOSEPH BLAND. 

Few of its present citizens can claim a longer residence in Iowa than 
the gentleman whose name is above transcribed. He came here in 1853, 
only seven years after its admission into the Union as a state, and when 
the population was but two hundred thousand, as compared to the mil- 
lions now inhabiting this prosperous commonwealth. During all of 
the fifty succeeding years of rapid development and marvelous growth, 
Mr. Bland has counted one and borne his full share in making Iowa 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 439 

what it is now generally atlniitted to be, the greatest agricultural state 
in the Union. He is a native of Pennsyhania and son of Thomas and 
Elizabeth Bland. This worthy couple, though both born in old Vir- 
ginia, went, after their marriage, to the neighboring Keystone state and 
were identified therewith during all of their subsequent li\es. Thomas 
Bland was a carpenter by trade, and it required all his time and many a 
day's arduous toil to support his wife and thirteen children. He suc- 
ceeded, however, in making a good li\-ing for all until called to his last 
rest in 1874, at the ripe old age of eighty-four years. His first wife 
died in 1854 after becoming the mother of the following named chil- 
dren: Mary, Susan, Delilah, Amelia, Martha, Joseph, John, Kate, 
Elizabeth, Thomas, Sarah, Cynthia and Ellen. By a second marriage 
with Sarah Sharpneck there were three children: Frank, \A'illiam and 
one who died in infancy. 

Joseph Bland, who was the sixth of his father's first set of children, 
was born in Greene count}', Pennsylvania, October 19, 1824, and re- 
mained at the place of his nativity until reaching his majority. In 1844 
he came west, spent a year in Ohio, thence went to Missouri, where he 
remained over a year, and then returned to Pennsylvania and 
was married to Elsie, daughter of Henry and Nancy Church. In 1853, 
accompanied by his bride, Mr. Bland again started westward, but this 
time settled in Appanoose county, which was destined to be his perma- 
nent abiding place. It took hard work to succeed in Iowa, as else- 
where, but Mr. Bland was young and vigorous then and equal to all 
reasonable demands that might be made upon him. The long years of 
struggle have not been without their compensation, and besides a com- 
fortable home he finds himself in possession of consideralile UukI and 

other property. About 1883 Mr. Bland noticed that his health had be- 
27 



iiO BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

gun to fail, and cleeming- it the part of prudence to cease from liard 
work, he retired wit'n his family to Piano and in a cozy home at that 
place is spending the evening of his days. 

The children resulting from Mr. Bland's early marriage are ten 
in nuniher. and thus recorded in order of birth : Nancy. Mary, de- 
ceased ; Henry; Benton, deceased; Sarah; Minerva; Amelia, deceased; 
John, Ada, and Charles, the latter dying in infancy. During the Civil 
war Mr. Bland served as a member of the Iowa State Home Guards. 
He and his wife have long been members of the United Brethren 
church and are highly esteemed in all relations of life. 

JOHN M. STURDIVANT. M. D. 

A man who for many years held a leading place among the physi- 
cians of this county and seemed to be one of those gifted men who are 
successful in everything they undertake, was Dr. John M. Sturdivant. 
His father, Robert J., was a native of Tennessee, born in 1804; he re- 
moved to Indiana, but in 1836 came to Iowa and located on a farm in 
Harrisburg township. Van Buren county, where he lived for many 
years, and where he died, having become very wealth. He married 
Anna Smithson, also a native of Tennessee and born in 181 2, whose 
father was a native of France; she died when the subject of this article 
was only five years old, and Mr. Sturdivant married a second time. 

John M. came into the world on a farm in Van Buren county, 
Iowa, on the 3d day of August, 1838, and ended his long and success- 
ful career in Centerville on the 7th of November, 1890, when he had 
lived to see his life's highest ideals and hopes realized. He passed 
his boyhood days on his father's farm, where the healthful influences 
of country life no douljt did nnich to shape his character. His educa- 



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JOHH M. STURDIYANT. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 443 

tion was received in the country schools, and lie then attended college 
at Denmark and Galesburg. Having determined upon medicine for his 
profession he began his studies under Dr. O. George at Bonaparte, 
Iowa, and after practicing for a time in Bonaparte, he attended an eye, 
ear and throat infirmary at St. Louis ; he then went to the Keokuk 
Medical College, where lie was graduated in 1861. Coming to Appa- 
noose county, he began his practice in Cincinnati, which he continued till 
1882, when he came to Centerville. He had been one of the pioneers of 
the town of Cincinnati and was one of its first merchants. In the med- 
ical profession he was eminently successful and his patients over the 
county will long remember his kind offices. 

In i860 Dr. Sturdivant was married to Miss Elizabeth Wood; she 
was born in Carroll county, Ohio, in 1841, and was brought to Iowa 
in 1844 by her parents, Benjamin and Jane (Lowe) Wood, who settled 
in Van Buren county. The following children have been born to Mr. 
and Mrs. Sturdivant: Laura M., who is the wife of T. F. Gault; Law- 
rence J., a prominent physician of Exline, Iowa; John M., also a phy- 
sician, of Cincinnati; Anna Iowa, deceased; M. Gertrude, deceased; 
George W., who is a merchant of Centerville; B. Wayne, deceased; 
Carleton B., of Centerville; and Frank, of Centerville. 

Dr. Sturdivant was a man of high moral character and with many 
qualities which endeared him not only to his immediate family but to 
the whole community, and thus his loss was deeply felt. His political 
affiliations were with the Democratic party, and he was prominent in the 
Masonic order. Mrs. Sturdivant is a faithful member of the Christian 
church and also of the Eastern Star. She is much esteemed in the city, 
not only on her husband's account, but for her own sweet and noble 
ways. 



444 BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

jOHX C. CRIST. 

Tlie al)ovo namcil, \\lu> is now leading a retirctl life at his home 
near Jerome, has been a resident of Ai)pancK>se ci>unty for tliirty-three 
years. Previously he had lived many years in Indiana, wliere liis parents 
brought him in what the historians call an "early day." and thus Mr. 
Crist has been familiar with life in the west for the full period allowed 
by the psalmist as the limit of human existence. Tlu)ugh his career 
has not been especially adventurous, Mr. Crist has seen much and can 
tell many interesting stories of his experiences of what used to be called 
"the tar west." but which, is now in the very center of civilization. A 
son of John and Mary Crist, he was born at Delaware. Pennsylvania, 
October jS, i8iy. When he was still a lad his parents left their native 
state and located in l-ranklin county. Indiana, where they spent the 
remainder of their da\s. Though not members of any church, they 
were believers in the truths of the gospel, often attended divine services 
and instructed their offspring in the funtlamental truths of Christianity. 
Of their eight children the four now living are John G., Isaac, Allison 
and Margaret. 

Mr. Crist grew up in Indiana, w-here he got some education by 
irregular attendance at the country schools, and when the Civil war 
came on he enlisted in Company B. Eighty-seventh Indiana \'olunteer 
Infantry, with which he served loyally until injury from a fall while 
marching compelled his discharge for disability, after twenty-one months 
in the army. In 1869 be left Indiana for Iowa, and upon arrival took up 
his abode on a fami in Appanoose county, near Jerome, which has ever 
since been his abiding place. In 1849 Mr. Crist was married in Indiana 
and has eight children: John. Isaac, .\ltred, Sarah Elizabeth, 
Emily. Mary, William and Minnie. The i)arents are members of the 



BJOGRAFJIJCAL ASD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 445 

Baptist cliurcli anfl the whole family are among the most respected 
residents of the neighborhood around Jerome. 



EDWARD T. JEXXIXGS. 

It is not too much to say that in this commonwealth of the free 
and independent the man who performs faithfully the duties that fall 
to the lot of the American citizen is the peer of any proud and hide- 
bound aristocrat who ever pranced in the royal purple before the admir- 
ing gaze of serf-born foreigners; and at the end of a long life of con- 
scientious anfl active effort he may well view with satisfaction and con- 
tentment the work of his hands. In this list of worthy and honored 
citizens we include witli perfect right the name of Edward T. Jennings, 
who is one of the leading farmers of Appanoose county, and resides 
near the town of Piano. 

William Jennings, who was the father of our subject, was born in 
Covington, Kentucky, and died in Johns township, Appanoose county, 
in May, 1869; he married Christina Shultz, who was a native of Penn- 
sylvania, and died in Johns township May 16, 1874. They were mar- 
ried in Adams county. Ohio, and there began their home life. Mr. 
Jennings was a gunsmith by trade and followed this calling all his life. 
In July of 1854 he left Ohio and took up his residence in Johns town- 
ship, Appanoose county, where he and his wife remained the balance of 
their lives. 

One of the children of the alxne parents was Edward T. Jennings, 
whose birth occurred in Adams county, Ohio, September 13, 1837, and 
his youth was passed in the varied activity common to most boys reared 
in the first half of the la.st century. .\t the very Ijeginning of the war of 



446 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

the Rebellion he enlisted in the Fifth Kansas Cavalry under Colonel 
H. P. Johnson, who recruited a company in Iowa. He was afterward 
transferred to the Sixth Kansas and saw much of the stern reality of 
war in Missouri, Arkansas and other western states. He was taken 
prisoner at Fort Smith, Arkansas, and for over a year endured confine- 
ment in the southern war prison at Tyler, Texas. He was among those 
who were engaged in chasing the Price raiders, and did considerable 
guerrilla fighting. After he was released from the prison he returned 
to Appanoose county. He first lived on a farm two miles south of 
Piano, and in 1892 removed to his present nice home just south of Piano. 
There he conducts his farming interests very profitably. 

Mr. Jennings was married in 1869 to Josephine Van Dorn, who 
was born in Van Buren county, Iowa, March 12, 1844, and died August 
21, 1899; her parents removed to Appanoose county in 1856. Of the 
four children of Mr. and Mrs. Jennings two are still li\'ing and keep 
house for Mr. Jennings — Lena and Elizabeth. Mr. Jennings lives over 
again the scenes of the Ci\il war among his comrades in the Grand 
Army of the Republic post at Centerville. He actively supports the 
principles of the Republican party, and has shown his interest in edu- 
cation in his community by serving for twenty-five years as president of 
the school board. 

AR]\IILDA JENNIE KINGSBURY. 

Mrs. Armilda Jennie Kingsbury, residing near the village of Dia- 
mond, Appanoose county, Iowa, was born in Coles county, Illinois, 
August 28, 1844, and was the daughter of excellent people by the name 
of Dr. A. A. and Catherine (Dick) Keran. Her father was a native 
of Shelbv countv, Ohio, and her mother was bom in Kentuckv. These 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 447 

parents were married near Paris, Edgar cmnity. Illinois, and soon after- 
ward came to Coles countv, where the suhject of this sketch first saw 
the light of day. A. A. Keran was a physician and also a Methodist 
minister. For thirteen months he was engaged in the practice of medi- 
cine in Minnesota, and he then brought his family t(.) Davis county, 
Iowa, and settled on Soap creek, but in 1854 he removed to Appanoose 
county and located on a farm one mile west of where Mrs. Kingsliury 
now resides. Mr. Keran and wife afterward moved to Clarke county, 
Iowa, also to Kansas and Missouri, and in Golden City of the latter 
state he passed away. 

It was in the fall of i860 that Miss Armilda married John Kings- 
l)ur\-, and they at once began their married life on a farm to the east of 
the place where Mrs. Kingsbury now lives. When the Ci\il war came 
on Mr. Kingsbury was found among the volunteers who were willing 
to sacrifice their private interests to the welfare of the country. He 
enlisted in ComiJau}- I, Thirty-sixth Iowa Infantry, and at the battle 
of Arch Mills was wounded. This wound was the eventual cause of 
his death in 18S5. Mrs. Kingsbury made her home with her parents 
in Kansas until her husband was discharged from the service, and 
they then returned to Iowa and engaged in farming pursuits. 

To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Kingsbury were bom eight chil- 
dren, and these are now filling honorable places in the different walks 
of life. William is at home; Mrs. Minnie O'Neal lives in Ringgold 
county, Iowa; Roy is at home; Elmer was a member of Company I, 
Fourteenth Infantry, of the regular army in the Philippines, but now 
resides in Salt Lake City; Charles resides at Marion, Iowa; Harry 
is in this county ; Jesse Gordon makes bis home near Garfield ; and 
May is at liome. The sons ha\e taken the place of their father and 



448 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

farm the estate of one hundred and sixty acres in Bellaire township. 
Mrs. King-sbnry is a devoted member of the Christian church and occu- 
pies a place of high regard in tiie community. 

ROBERT KINGSBERRY. 

Robert Kingsberry is a native of the bright, green isle of Erin, 
and with all the lively and progressive qualities of the race, he, like 
thousands carrying the blood of the ancient Celts in their veins, has 
closely identified himself with the American democracy and filled the 
niche of a worthy and upright citizen. He was born in the north of 
Ireland, county Monaghan, in the month of March, 1823. His father, 
Robert Kingsberry. was born in 1802 and died in 1858, and spent his 
whole life in tilling the soil of his native land. His mother's maiden 
name was Mattie Dugan. She came to America and lived with the 
subject of this sketch, passing away about 1863. 

Robert spent the first twenty-four years of his life on the farm of 
his father, and in 1848 decided to cast in his lot with the great world 
he had heard so much about on the other side of the Atlantic. He 
landed in New York on June 13 and remained there one month, ac- 
quainting himself with the ways of the new world, and then went to 
Cleveland and from there to Xenia, Ohio, where he lived for a num- 
ber of years. In the latter place he was engaged in railroading on the 
Little Miami Railroad for sixteen years, and for two years was engineer 
on a switch engine in Centerville. In February, 1864, Mr. Kingsberry 
enlisted in Company K, One Hundred and Eighty-fourth Ohio Volun- 
teer Infantry, and until the close of the war saw much hard service in 
Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama. He was mustered out at Camp Chase, 
Columbus, Ohio, with a creditable record as a soldier for his adopted 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 449 

country. Mr. Kingsberry dates his arrival in Iowa in the year follow- 
ing the war. He had previously, in 1853, purchased one hundred and 
eighty acres of land in this county, and here he has ever since made 
his home, owning' at the present time two hundred and twenty acres 
of choice land. 

On the 26th of I'ebruary, 1850, Mr. Kingsberry married ]\Iiss 
Sarah Mills, who was living at Springfield, Ohio, at the time of her 
marriage. She was born in Ireland, January i, 1828, and was reared 
on a farm near the home of her future husband. Her father died in 
1836, and in 1847 she came to America with her mother, who died 
three months after landing. Mr. and Mrs. Kingsberry had eight chil- 
dren, of whom the six following are living: W. D., George, Mary, 
Robert, Jr., Jennie, and Maggie. Mr. Kingsberry was for a numljer 
of years secretary of the school board. He is a member of the Free 
and Accepted Masons, holds closely to the tenets of the Republican 
party and is a member of the Methodist church. In ail the relations of 
life, whether in the position of the skilled mechanic, as a soldier or as a 
farmer, whether in private business affairs or in the larger puljlic inter- 
ests, he has made his influence felt as a man of integrity, thorough, ca- 
pable and honest. 



ELIZABETH WAKEFIELD. 

One of the honored residents of Appanoose county living near 
Piano is Mrs. Elizabeth Wakefield, who, already past the allotted three 
score and ten, still experiences the joys of life in the peace which is 
alone the concomitant of an old age preceded by years of industrious 
and conscientious effort. Mrs. Wakefield is a native of Bartholomew 



450 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

county, Indiana, her birth taking place on April 29. 1829. Her parents 
were Samuel and Anna (Stater) Daugherty, who both died in Indiana, 
where the father had for many years followed the trade of a carpenter 
and blacksmith and was also a farmer. On August 24. 1848. Miss 
Daugherty was married to James Stuckey Wakefield, and it was their 
lot to travel together the way of life for nearly half a century, sharing 
equally the burdens and the comforts which came to them. 

Mr. Wakefield was born in Bartholomew county. Indiana. June 
6, 1823. and passed away on January 16. 1899. His parents were 
native to Indiana and were neighbors to the Daughertys. The father, 
who was a teacher by profession, died at the age of forty-eight, and the 
mother at the age of eighty-four. After their marriage James and 
Elizabeth \Vakefield went to housekeeping with a grandfather of Mr. 
Wakefield, and later mo\ed to a farm owned by the father of Mrs. 
Wakefield, where they remained until 1855. They then loaded their 
possessions into wagons, took with them horses and live stock and 
made the long but pleasant journey to .\ppanoose count}', where they 
occui)ied the place which is still in the possession of Mrs. Wakefield. 
Like his father, Mr. Wakefield was a teacher, and many who have now 
grown to middle age remember him as the instructor their youth. While 
in Indiana he served for many years as justice of the peace, being elected 
on the Democratic ticket. He also held the same office in Appanoose 
county and was fulfilling its duties a short time before his death. He 
was a member of the board of supervisors at the time the court house 
was built in 1861 ; also when the county farm was purchased. During 
President Cleveland's first administration he was postmaster of Piano. 
For twenty-two )ears he was school treasurer, holding that place at 
the time of his death. His religious connections were with the Chris- 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 451 

tiaii churcli. Sucli a life of usefulness could not fail to leave its im- 
press upon the community, and to him was shown the regard due the 
man of character and faithfulness to trust which he had proved himself 
to be. 

Ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Wakefield and all are now 
living: Mrs. Catherine .\. Baker, of Bellaire township; Mrs. Sylvania 
J. Wailes, living north of Garfield; Samuel W., of Brazil, Iowa; 
George W., at home; James H., of Piano; John A., of Des Moines; 
Mrs. Elizabeth Matilda Cross, living near the old home; William F., 
also near home; Christian E., residing north of Garfield; and Randle 
Fisher, at home. 



JAMES L. STONE. 

James M. Stone, who was the father of the subject of this brief 
biograph}-, was born in the state of Connecticut, August 27, 1809, and 
died in August, 1895, having a long and useful life to his credit. He 
left home at the age of sixteen and went to Elizabethtown, New Jersey, 
where he earned a livelihood by peddling tinware. At that place he also 
met the lady who became his wife, Miss Eliza Ann W'ilco.x. She was 
born in New Jersey on December 29, 1812, and died July 23, 1871. 
After their marriage they went to Ashtabula county, Ohio, and settled 
on a one hundred acre tract of timber land given to them by Mrs. Stone's 
father. Mr. Stone followed farming the rest of his life. In 1857 he 
came to Iowa with his wife and children and located on a farm in Appa- 
noose county, where he and his wife remained until called away liy 
death. Of the seven children born to them fi\'e are yet living: J. J. 
Stone, of Mystic, Iowa; .Alfred Stone, of Centerville; Albertus Stone, 



452 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

who resides in Kansas; Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Powers, of Chicago; and 
James L. Stone. 

James L. Stone was born in Ashtabula count}'. Ohio, June 6, 1835. 
and at an early age learned the art of husbandry upon the farm of his 
father, with whom he came to Iowa in 1857. \\'hen twenty years of 
age he was married, on February 4, 1855, his wife being Miss Ximena 
Dodge, and the ceremony being performed just across the Pennsylvania 
line. Miss Dodge was born in Ashtabula county. June 4, 1839. Cyrus 
and Susan (Thomas) Dodge, her parents, were natives of Ohio, the 
former dying when the daughter Ximena was small, and the latter, who 
was born in 1818, passing away in 1877. The only son of these parents 
was killed in the Civil war. To Mr. and Mrs. Stone were born eleven 
children, and nine of these are still living and occupy honorable places 
in societ}' : Almeron J. Stone resides at St. Joseph. Missouri; Frank 
L. is in South Dakota; James X. lives at Beatrice, X'ebraska; Mrs. 
Flora Rigsby is in Kansas ; Aurelius conducts a store in Piano ; Mrs. 
Alice Benson resides in Kansas ; Charles W. has his home in St. Josepli, 
Missouri ; W. Byrd lives at Piano ; and Clyde resides in St. Joseph. 

The outbreak of the Civil war threw all the plans of domestic 
comfort and material happiness into confusion, and with the other loyal 
citizens Mr. Stone offered his services, being enrolled, in 186.2, in Com- 
pany I, Thirty-sixth Iowa Infantry, and he followed the flag till the 
close of the struggle; most of his service was spent in Arkansas, Mis- 
sissippi, Missouri, and Texas. At the battle of Saline River he was 
taken prisoner and endured ten montiis of confinement in the southern 
prison at Tyler. Texas. With the exception of this period spent in the 
service of his country Mr. Stone has followed farming the greater part 
of his active life and met with excellent returns, so much so that in 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 453 

1897 he retired from the farm ami now makes his home in Piano, where 
he and his wife enju\- the fruits of their former toil. He is a meniher 
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and he and his wife are 
activel}- connected with the Methodist church. The record of such a 
life is full of encouragement, and among the names of men who have 
heen marked for their consistent efforts in the upbuilding of the life of 
every community must be placed that of James L. Stone. 

JAMES HAGAN. 

James Hagan is one of the old residents of Appanoose county and 
derives from his Irish father many of the characteristics of that race, 
which have undoubtedly been a considerable factor in his successful 
career throughout the many years of his life. His father was John 
Hagan and was a native of Dublin county, Ireland. He came to 
America when four years old; his parents first located in Princeton, 
Xew Jersey, and later removed to Warren county, Ohio. John Hagan 
became a ship carpenter and weaver by trade and was engaged in this 
occupation most of his life. His wife was Elizabeth Glasbie, who was 
a native of Virginia and went to Warren county with her parents, 
where she met and married Mr. Hagan. Shortly after their marriage 
they removed to Hamilton county, Ohio, but later returned to Warren 
county, where Mr. Hagan died in 1S33. His wife continued the weav- 
ing business and remained on the farm until 1840. She died in 1845. 

James Hagan was the son of the above parents and was born in 
Hamilton county, Ohio, near Cincinnati, on the 23d of February. 1825. 
He was reared ])rincipall\- by his mother and learned the cooiiering 
trade, which he followed in Clinton county, Ohio, up to 1848. In 1852 



451 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

he became a resident of Illinois, and the following year removed to 
Council Bluffs, Iowa, where he remained only a short time. In the latter 
part of 1853 he returned to his native state of Ohio and engaged in the 
coopering business. In October, 1854, in company with Peter Sidles, 
he came to Appanoose county and loca'ted in Lincoln township. The 
next year he was married and began married life on a farm in Lincoln 
township. Shortly afterward he removed to Bellair township, lived 
one year at Xuma and then returned to Lincoln township. He con- 
tinued farming until 1870, when lie came to Jerome and occupied his 
present nice home. He gave up the active duties of the farm when his 
sons were able to take charge. Mr. Hagan was also a carpenter by 
trade and followed that pursuit for several years. 

On August 2, 1855, Mr. Hagan was united in marriage to Eliza- 
beth B. Criswell, daughter of John and Rebecca (Kilgore) Criswell. 
Of the six children born to them fi\e are li\'ing : Mrs. Ada Crouch, 
Mrs. Mary Belle Hawkins, William .V., Mrs. Emma Ogle and John. 
Mr. Hagan is the oldest Mason in Seymour Lodge, having been a mem- 
ber fifty-three years. He is also a member of the Methodist church. 

CALVIN R. JACKSON. 

Among the old residents of Appanoose county who have figured 
prominently in its development and progress is Calvin R. Jackson, who 
has been an inhabitant of the county for nearly half a century and has 
witnessed its growth from a county with a scattered population to its 
present flourishing condition as one of the foremost agricultural and 
industrial counties of the great western commonwealth. His parents 
were Thomas and Delilah (Wethington) Jackson, who were both born 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 455 

in tlie Bluegrass state wlien its mighty forests were almost intact and 
tlie Indians were still cqnal sharers with the whites. They afterward 
moved to Ohio anil then to Indiana. Mr. Jackson was a farmer and 
Inmberman. and he met his death by a heavy log rolling on him as he 
was on his way to Lonisxille, Kentncky. 

It was while his parents resided in Jefferson county, Indiana, that 
Calvin R. Jackson came into the world, the date of his birth being 
February 2. 1S20. He grew up to manhood in his native state and in 
1848 left Indiana with his mother, his wife, his sister and two children 
and came west to the new state of Iowa. They first located in Henry 
county and after remaining there one year moved to Jefiferson county. 
In 1854 he came to Appanoose county and settled on a farm three miles 
south of Centerville, but a year later went to Jerome, where he now 
resides. Mr. Jackson was a successful and enterprising farmer until 
1894, in which year he retired from the active labors of the farm and 
opened a boarding house in Jerome, now furnishing one of the indispen- 
sable places of rest and home comforts which have been one of the insti- 
tutions of the world since the beginning of time. Mr. Jackson is also 
one of the Ci\il war veterans. He was a member of the Fifth Kansas 
Infantry and was afterward transferred to the Sixth Kansas Cavalry, in 
which regiment he saw much arduous service for three years and three 
months in Missouri. 

Mr. Jackson's lirst marriage occurred in 1844 to Ellen Watkins, 
who died May 22, 1879. Ten children were born of this marriage and 
eight are now surviving. His second wife was Nancy (Cashman) 
Heirrear, who is still living. Xo children were born of this union. Mr. 
Jackson is a member of the Grand Army post at Seymour and in re- 
ligion he belongs to the United Brethren church. 



456 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

CLARENCE W. LEWIS. 

It is the uiii\ersal opinion that success in business is the result of 
industry and application rather than any special talent, and in fact what 
obstacle can stand long before these cardinal virtues? In the city of 
Centerville there grew up a great business, known as the Lewis Lum- 
ber Company, which was the result of the hard work and progressive 
business skill of two men, S. Lewis and his son. And we shall here 
give in brief detail the main points of the life of Clarence W. Lewis, 
who did so much for the welfare of his city and at his death left the 
priceless legacy of a good name. His parents were Seth and Celina 
(Woodworth) Lewis, the former a native of Connecticut and of Welsh 
ancestry. They were married in Illinois and about 1865 located in 
Marengo, that state, where he engaged in the banking business, having 
previously dealt in lumber. 

Their son, Clarence, was born in the village of Blackberry, Illinois, 
February 7, 1855, and was educated in the common schools, and at an 
early age entered his father's bank. In 1880 he was married and then 
went to Trenton, Misscniri, where, in connection with his father, he 
engaged in the lumber business. But they remained here only two 
years and in 1882 came to Center\ille. where they established an exten- 
sive lumber concern. They also had branches in Seymour, Jerome and 
Mystic, Iowa; the father located in Seymour, where he managed the 
lumljer yard and also conducted a Ijank; there his ileath occurred in 
1893, after a long and prosperous career in different lines of commer- 
cial activity. In 1894 the Lewis Lumber Company was incorporated 
with the following officers : C. W. Lewis, president and treasurer ; L. 
W. Lewis, vice president, and C. M. Crego, secretary. From the be- 
ginning this company enjoyed a large patronage and it occupies large 




CLAREHCE W. LEWIS. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 459 

yards and sheds, covering fully a half a hlock of ground. B}' its abil- 
ity to buy in immense quantities the firm has been able to sell at reduced 
prices, at the same time offering the very best lumber in the mar- 
ket, and thus the concern has become one of the sources of pride to 
the citizens of Centerville. Mr. Lewis continued at the head of this 
enterprise until his death, which t(Xik place on April 4, 1901. And thus 
passed away a man whose influence for good was everywhere felt and 
whose remarkable success in the business field will long serve as a me- 
morial to his strong, honest, forceful character. In 1880 Mr. Lewis 
was married to Carrie M. Safford, a native of Marengo, Illinois, and 
the daughter of Frank and Wealthy (Hanchett) Safford, pioneers of 
Illinois from New York. There are five living children; Louise, 
Lawrence, John, Howard and Carrie May. 



DAVID PUGH. 

David Pugh belongs to a family that was connected with the early 
settlement of different sections of this country, and he himself can claim 
the right to attend the conventions of the old settlers of Iowa. No 
class of people is worthy of more respect than those who have blazed 
the way for the oncoming army of civilization, and in the coming years 
the figures of these brave and hardy pioneers will loom up larger and 
larger on the horizon of history, for to them belongs in great measure 
the credit for "western expansion," the wonder of the nineteenth cen- 
tury. The parents of the subject of this sketch were Levi and Jane 
(Watkins) Pugh, both natives of Virginia. Levi Pugh was one of the 
honored veterans in the war for the final vindication of American rights 
in 1812, and by occupation he was a tiller of the soil. Joining the tide 

28 



^i^i^ 



460 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

of emigration which, after the war for independence, streamed across 
the mountains into the western territory, in 1827 they settled in Wayne 
county, Indiana, and from there moved to Washington county. Levi 
Pugh died while living in Wayne county, and his wife passed away in 
Harrison county, Missouri. 

David Pugh claims the Old Dominion state for his birthplace, 
being born in Montgomery county, January 12, 1819, and he spent his 
youth in the invigorating work of the farm, and moved with his parents 
to their different places of residence. His coming to Johns township, 
Appanoose county, is dated on May 9, 1854, and he has ever since 
made this his home, with the exception of twenty-two months spent in 
Kansas. His occupation throughout his active career has been that of 
farmer and teamster. In 1892 he removed to Piano, and he now resides 
there with his wife, spending his remaining days in peace, and quiet con- 
templation of the future and happy memories of the past. 

Mr. Pugh was married in 1842 to Nancy Needham, a native of 
Jennings county, Indiana, born May 4, 1824. She was living with her 
parents, Enoch and Lucretia (Spaulding) Needham, in Bartholomew 
county, Indiana, at the time of her marriage, and in that state both her 
parents died. There were born to Mr. and Mrs. Pugh twelve children. 
Five of these died in infancy, one was killed while bravely serving his 
country in the Civil war, and the five now living are as follows : Mrs. 
Jennie Baird, of Center\-ille ; Mrs. Ann Baker, of Kansas; Preston 
Pugh, in Nebraska; William H. Pugh, in Kansas; and Mrs. Josephine 
Needham, living in Ringgold countv, Iowa. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 461 

JESSE A. SWAN. 

To the superficial observer the Hves of men possess a monotonous 
similarity and almost undeviating regularity, consisting of birth, a short 
period of active existence, and the end-all, death; but to the sympathetic 
student the life of every individual shows a thousand phases of interest, 
stamping every human being as an individual distinct from all his fel- 
lows ; and, although space precludes an entering into the inner and real 
life of men, yet their outward acts are entertaining and indicative of 
the wide diversitv in mankind. Among such men of Appanoose county 
as ha\'e made an impress on the life and institutions of the community 
is Jesse A. Sw-an. 

Jesse A. Swan is the son of James N. and Mary (Maulding) 
Swan, and a native of Appanoose county, having been born here in the 
month of October, 1868. He was born on a farm and there spent his 
youth, receiving his education in the country schools. He lived on the 
farm until he was twenty-three years of age, and then purchased the 
J. J. Bland hardware store in Piano. He is now most successfully con- 
ducting this, in connection with a general store and the village postoffice. 
On May 23, 1901, Mrs. Swan was appointed postmistress, and she is 
now capably filling that position. Mr. Swan holds membership with 
the Modern Woodmen, and is otherwise prominently identified with 
the interests of the community. On June i, 1891, Mr. Swan married 
Miss Minnie E. Elgin, and they have one son, Carl E., who was born 
March 10, 1892. 

The parents of Mrs. Swan were John M. and Mary J. (Silknitter) 
Elgin. The former's place of nativity was at Martinsville, near Indian- 
apolis, Indiana, and the latter was born near the same place, and when 
only eight years of age came west with her parents and located in the 



462 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

northern part of Appanoose county. Mr. Elgin also came to this county 
when a child. He was a farmer, an extensive stock dealer and for four 
years most capabl_\- performed the duties of sheriff of Appanoose county. 
He also ser\ed his country as a soldier in the Civil war. Mr. Elgin died 
April I, 1900, but his wife still survives and resides in Centerville. To 
these parents were born seven children, and all Ijut one are living: \V. 
E. Elgin, Charles H. Elgin, Maude Elgin, Jennie Elgin, Fred Elgin, the 
last three being at home with their mother, and Minnie E., the wife of 
our subject, was born near Walnut City, Appanoose county, December 
19, 1868. 

SAMUEL HIXSON. 

With the active blood of southern-born parents in his veins and 
with a sturdy inherited character, Samuel Hixson has spent his long 
life amid various scenes, has engaged in the noble calling of agriculture 
with such energy and businesslike astuteness as to place him among the 
front rank in that occupation, and besides his private matters has found 
the time and possessed the inclination to serve his fellow citizens in 
public offices, and thus fulfill the duties that are indissoluble from true 
American citizenship. 

Such is the brief record of this gentleman, whose parents were 
William and Sallie (Pearson) Hixson. The former was born in the 
sunny state of Georgia in 1804 and ended his earthly labors in 18S7, 
The latter was a native of North Carolina and died when the subject 
of this sketch was fourteen years old. William Hixson was brought b)' 
his pare'.its, in 18 16, to Preble county, Ohio, where the latter made 
their home until their death. He engaged in farming all his life and 
attained a foremost position among the agricultural element of the 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 403 

county. Se\-en children were born to these parents, and three are now 
surviving: Mrs. Rebecca Rinehart, of Preble county, Ohio; Mrs. 
Hannah Gard, of Randolph count)-, Indiana; and Samuel. 

Samuel Hixson was ushered into the world in Preble county, 
Ohio, September 20, 1832, and remained in that county until 1856, hav- 
ing bv that time become fully initiated into the intricacies of farm life, 
with all its ups and downs, and also having found for himself a partner 
in life's journey. In that year be came west to Iowa and located in 
Lee countv, where be pursued bis chosen vocation for the period of six 
and a half years. In 1863 be removed to Appanoose county and settled 
on the place north of Mystic on which they now reside. Here he early 
became identified with the public interests of the county, and his fitne.ss 
for places of trust was recognized in 1879 by his election on the Green- 
back ticket to a seat in the Iowa legislature, where, during the session of 
1880, he performed his due share in the actions of that body. For one 
term he held the office of justice of the peace and was a member of the 
Walnut township board. In religion be is connected with tlie Christian 
church. 

In the fall of 1855 ^^i'- Hixson was married to Miss Elizabeth 
Miles, who was born in Preble county, Ohio, February i, 1837. Her 
parents were John and Susan Miles, both natives of Ohio. The former 
was born February 5, 18 10, and died in 1870, and the latter was born 
June 2;^. 1813, and died March 2j, 1853. Mrs. Hixson's father was a 
shoemaker by trade and also followed farming. He had nine children, 
six of whom are living: Mrs. Delila Eikenbary, Mrs. Rebecca Harms- 
ton, Catherine Miles, P. M. Miles, deceased, C. V. Miles, and Mrs. 
Hixson. Mr. and Mrs. Hixson were the parents of nine children, and 
eight are still living, being luimbered among the respected citizens of 



46i BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

their county: Elliott P.. of Keokuk county: John Miles, of this county; 
James William, at home with his parents ; Mrs. J. W. Ellis, near Cin- 
cinnati. Iowa : Mrs. Eliza Douglas, in this county ; Mrs. Leonia Ellis, 
of Calhoun county, Iowa ; Mrs. Lauretta Ockerman, of Wayne county, 
Iowa; and Mrs. Catherine Blattner, of Keokuk county. 



GEORGE W. McCLOUD. 

George \\'. IMcCloud is one of the representative farmers of Appa- 
noose county and deserves special mention on account of the active part 
he has always taken in affairs of public nature and his character as a 
worthy and upright citizen. His parents were George R. and Mary 
Jane (Warner) jMcCloud, natives of Virginia. The former died Feb- 
ruar\- 3, 1886, but the latter still survives and makes her home with her 
children in Appanoose county. Mrs. McCloud has the unique distinc- 
tion of being at the head of five generations. Four different groups of 
children have descended from her. and she is now variously designated 
as mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great-grand- 
mother, a relationship almost incredible without the actual facts at hand. 
This estimable lady was born in Pendleton county. Virginia. January 
26, 1818, and was there reared, remaining at home with her parents, 
William and Jane Warner, until she married Mr. McCloud. After their 
marriage they remained in Virginia until November 7, 1865, when they 
started on the trip to Iowa. They made the entire journey by w-agon 
and finally located in the northern part of this county, near Iconium. 
Mr. McCloud made farming his occupation all his life, and his death 
occurred in Iconium. Ten of their children grew to maturity and eight 
of the.se are living: Nathaniel, residing at Moravia; the subject of 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 465 

tliis sketch ; Susan Teegarden. of Moravia, Iowa ; Elizabeth Sheeks, of 
Kansas; Asa R.. of Iconium; Mrs. Amanda Myers, of Kansas; Henry, 
of Mystic ; Anna Burns, of Iconium. 

George W. McCloud claims the Old Dominion state as the place of 
his birth, being born in Pocahontas county, March i, 1845. When only 
seventeen years old he l^ravely shouldered a musket in defense of the 
Union, enlisting December 4, 1861, in Company B, Tenth West Virginia 
Infantry. In 1863 he was attached to Batter}' G. First Virginia Flying 
Artillery, and was a participant in many of the important battles of the 
war, some of them being Droop Moimtain, Maryland Heights, Win- 
chester, Woodstock, Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek. In the last men- 
tioned both ex-Presiclents Hayes and McKinley took part. He was also 
in several raids in Tennessee and Virginia under General W. W. Aver- 
ell. On returning from the war, he soon forgot the sanguinary strug- 
gles on the battlefield in the engrossing occupation of a farmer, to wdiich 
pursuit he had determined to devote himself ; and in this calling he has 
made a gratifying success and at the present time owns a farm of one 
hundred and sixteen acres, one-half mile north of Mystic, which is a 
model in many respects. 

Mr. Cloud's marriage occurred in 1874 to Miss Jennie Thomas, 
whose parents, Asbury and Mary A. (Bowers) Thomas, are both de- 
ceased, the father dying in Texas and the mother in Appanoose county. 
Jennie Thomas was born on February 14, 1852. Mr. and Mrs. McCloud 
had nine children born to them, of whom six are now living: Linnie 
Myrtle Garton, Minnie, Lillie, Harrison, Mary and McKinley. The 
members of this family are well known in the community, and their lives 
have always been such as to command the high regard of their friends 
and acquaintances. 



466 BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

JAMES A. SEDDOX. 

In tlie multiplicity of modern industrial interests the one factor that 
must ever\\vhere be reckoned with is "King Coal." Without this uni- 
versal article of fuel the great industries of this, the greatest commercial 
country on the globe would be completely paralyzed, the busy marts of 
trade, transportation and all the activities that make up the civilization 
of modern times would receive the check that nothing else could effect. 
Therefore we must duly respect one who is instrumental in bringing to 
the market this important product; and in Mr. James A. Seddon we 
have a man who has been engaged in coal mining in its different phases 
ever since he was a child, and one who now occupies a foremost place 
in the business interests of Appanoose county. 

Ralph and Mary (.Armstrong) Seddon were both natives of Eng- 
land and were married in the county of Lancashire, about 183 1. The 
former was born September 26. 1807, and died September 24. 1859. 
The latter was born in October, 18 10. and died in the month of July. 
1874. They spait their entire lives in the country of their birth, and 
Mr. Seddon was employed as a coal digger up to his twenty-second 
year, when he became a manager of mines and continued in this till 
his death. They were the parents of fifteen children, the only three 
survivors making their home in America : John Seddon, of Mystic, 
Iowa; Mrs. Margaret Newman, of Hines, Iowa; and James A., the 
subject of this sketch. 

In Lancashire, England, on the I2th of May, 1851, James A. Sed- 
don was born, and at the age of eight years began working in the mines. 
In 1869 he left England, and, coming to the United States, located in 
Boone county, Iowa, where he obtained employment as a coal miner. 
In 1870 he went to ^^"yoming and followed mining one year. The next 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 467 

year he returned to Iowa and from there went to Monongahela, Wash- 
ington county, Pennsylvania: from there, in 1872, to Tioga county, 
that state, always engaged in mining. He soon returned to his old 
home in England, intending to remain there, but in July, 1874, he again 
set out for the new world, and this time located in Jefferson county, 
Iowa, where he remained till 1876; he then followed his calling for 
three months in Marion county, and for fifteen months in Monroe 
county. In 1877 lie became a mine operator, but disposed of his inter- 
ests the next year and came to Whatcheer. Keokuk county, Iowa. 
Shortly afterward he made a second trip to his old home, but after a 
visit of nine weeks returned to W' hatcheer, where he stayed four months. 
He then took charge of a mine in Wyoming, but in the latter part of 
1878 he resumed the operation of mines in Monroe county, Iowa. In 
1880 he spent six months in Whatcheer, and then for the third time 
went to Wyoming, where he was manager of the coal mines of the 
Union Pacific Railroad, but he continued this only fourteen months, 
when he again came to Whatcheer and was employed for fifteen months 
in weighing coal. In 1884, again taking up his residence in Monroe 
county, he remained until 1886. when he came to Mystic, Appanoose 
countv, where he has since made his home. 

Mr. Seddon and his brother Thomas opened the second mine in 
Mystic, which was known as the Seddon Brothers Coal Company. They 
disposed of this mine to the Centerville Block Coal Company. They 
then purchased the Mystic Block, which they sold to the Peerless Coal 
Company. They then opened up the Bran and Bower mine, and three 
others west of Mystic. Mr. Seddon is now the owner of the Iowa and 
Missouri mine and the Klondyke, and holds controlling interest in 
the Mystic Fuel Company's mine. For a number of years Mr. Seddon 



408 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

has been engaged in building houses for the miiiers and selling them 
on the instahnent plan. There are about two hundred and twenty-five 
men in his employ. In October, 1899, he opened a general store in the 
west end of town, and on the ist of January, 1901. he established a 
store in a central part of the town, which is ownetl by a joint stock 
company, but all the stock is owned by ]\Ir. Seddon except five shares. 
Mr. Seddon built and now owns the store building occupied bv the Bain 
Brothers' general store. 

When i\Ir. Seddon returned to England for the first time he was 
married to Anna Morris, a native of England, as were her parents. She 
died August 22, 1892, at the age of thirty-seven years, leaving four 
children : Margaret Elizabeth. James Samuel, \\'infield Scott and 
Peter Henr\-. In January, 1893, Mr. Seddon married Aliss Hannah 
E. Hughes, who is a native of Des Moines. Iowa. They have two chil- 
dren. Hazel and Beatrice. 



JAMES WOLFIXGER. 

The record of Mr. Wolfinger is that of a man who has worked his 
way upward to a position among the substantial men of the community 
m which he lives. His life has been one of industry and perseverance, 
and the systematic and honorable methods which he has followed have 
won him the support and confidence of many. Back to the old Key- 
stone state must we turn for the ancestry of our subject, and in Luzerne 
county, Pennsylvania, he first opened his eyes to the light of day on the 
5th of September, 1833. He is a son of John and Catherine (Miller) 
Wolfinger, both born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania. Their marriage 
was celebrated in the last named state, where Mr. Wolfinger was ac- 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 469 

tively engaged in farming until 1834, in which year the family removed 
to Mercer county, Illinois. That locality continued to be their home for 
the following four years, on the expiration of which period they took 
up their abode in Bates county, Missouri, and there the father's death 
occurred in March, 1S61, when he had reached the age of sixty-three 
years. The mother afterward removed to Appanoose county, Iowa, and 
her death occurred on the 17th of February, 1879, at the age of eighty- 
one years. Five children were born to this worthy couple, but only two 
of the number are now living, James, and Huldah, wife of Thomas 
Phillips, a resident of Nebraska. Those deceased were Elias, who died 
October 11, 1864, in the Union army; Nelson, died May 5, 1862; Shad- 
rach, died September 21. 1864, at Fort Smith, Arkansas, while in the 
service. 

James Wolfinger, whose name introduces this review, accompanied 
his mother on her removal to Appanoose county, and has ever since con- 
tinued his residence in this locality. On their arrival here they first 
located in the vicinity of Numa, where the son James turned his atten- 
tion to agricultural pursuits. On the 12th of August, 1861, he enlisted 
for service in the Civil war, entering Company B, Sixth Kansas Cavalry, 
and served his country as a valiant soldier until November 18, 1864, 
when he was honorably discharged. ' Returning thence to his home in 
Appanoose county, he was here married in 1868, when Miss Annie 
Gault became his wife, and their union has resulted in the birth of four 
children, three of whom still survive, namely: Deborah, who was born 
in 187 1, and is at home with her parents; Catherine, who was born 
on the 14th of September, 1873, and is the wife of Edward G. Camp- 
bell, of Appanoose county ; and James F., who was born March 23, 
1876, and is also at home. Since 1875 the family have resided in their 



i7ct BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GEXEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

beautiful and attractive home one-half mile north of Cincinnati, where 
Mr. \\'olfinger owns one hundred and ninety-five acres of rich and fertile 
land. In his social relations he is a member of the Grand Army of the 
Republic, in which he holds pleasant relations with his old comrades of 
the blue. 

WILLIAM M. ELLIS. 

The late William M. Ellis was quite well known to citizens of 
Appanoose county, of which he had been a resident for more than forty- 
five years. He was born in Mercer county. Kentucky, January 13. 1830, 
but when only eight years old was taken by his parents to Harrison 
countv. Indiana, where they took up a permanent abode, which only 
ceased with their deaths many years later. \\'illiam grew up in Har- 
rison county, and such education as he was destined to receive was ob- 
tained in the somewhat crude schools then prevailing in that section' of 
Indiana. \\'hen approaching the completion of his nineteenth year he 
met and married Miss ^Margaret A. Ellis, a distant relative of his family, 
the ceremony occurring in Harrison county, Indiana, December 24, 
1849. ^liss Ellis was but slightly her husband's junior, having been 
born in Harrison county, April 4, 1830, and the union that then took 
place lasted for more than half a century in a harmony of temperament 
and tastes that was as pleasing as it was unusual. 

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Ellis resided on an Indiana 
farm for six years, and then decided on a removal to the distant state 
of Iowa. It was in 1854 that this, their first bridal trip, was taken, and 
when they reached the new state beyond the Mississippi a location was 
selected in \'an Buren county, which remained their home during the 
three following years. In 1857 they transferred their residence to 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 471 

Appanoose county, wliere Mr. Ellis became the owner of the celebrated 
Long Branch stock farm, and for years was noted as one of the most 
extensive stock raisers in that part of the state. Of late years, however, 
owing to failing health, he was compelled to relax his former vigorous 
efforts and leave the tasks to youtiger hands. Eventuallv, in the course 
of nature, he reached the "inevitable hour" which awaits all things 
mortal, and on the 22d of March, 1902, his kind heart and benevolent 
impulses were hushed in death. Since this sad event Mrs. Ellis has 
resided at the old homestead, which has witnessed so many of the 
mutual joys of herself and husband, and where the golden anniversary 
of their wedding day was observed in 1899. Of her nine children 
seven still remain to comfort her old age, though their residences are 
scattered in many different states and localities. Perry\ Jesse and Mil- 
lard all reside in Appancxjse county, the latter at Numa. Elias is a 
citizen of Kansas. Mrs. Laura Tony makes her home in Missouri. Mrs. 
G. W. Edwards is in distant Colorado. Mrs. Harry Benefield, youngest 
of the family, is living in Oklahoma territory. Mrs. Ellis looks after 
the business of the farm and keeps the old homestead cheerful with the 
hospitality that always distinguished it and ready for the reception of 
her children when they come, as it always was in their childhood, dur- 
ing the happy days gone by. 



ROBERT CRAWFORD FORSYTH. 

Though this son of "old Scotia" has led a roving life on land and 
sea, changed resilience and l)usiness frequently, he has, with the shrewd- 
ness of his race, kejrt an eye on the main and followed the advice of his 
great national poet to "gather gean by every wile that's justified by 



•i72 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

honor." In otlier words, after a long and linsy career and his due sliare 
of the reljuffs of fickle fortune. Mr. Forsyth can show a comfortable 
balance on the right side of the ledger and is justly entitled to rank as 
a successful man of business. It is something of a privilege to have 
been born in the same county that produced Robert Burns, and this 
honor belongs to Mr. Forsyth, whose place of nativity has received such 
a halo from the poetry of this immortal writer that it has become 
familiar all over the world. He was the son of James and Margaret 
(Crawford) Forsyth and his birth occurred in Ayrshire, Scotland, June 
2, 1832. His father was a hand loom weaver and his business was to 
make some of those shawls and plaids for which Scotland is so cele- 
brated in the marts of trade. 

The parents, who spent their wliole li\'es within the confines of 
Scotland, had ten children, of whom Robert was the youngest. They 
removed to Dundee when the lad was four years old, and in that famous 
old town he was reared while lieing educated under the strict discipline 
of the Scottish schools. When near his fourteenth year the boy was 
apprenticed to learn the apothecary's trade, which in that country carries 
with it the power to diagnose cases of sickness among the county poor. 
It was his intention to eventually become a ph}-sician, but after serving 
his apprenticeship the irresistible inclination toward the sea, s® common 
to the coast countries, drew him like a lodestone, and at the age of 
seventeen he found himself aboard a ship bound for "foreign parts." It 
was his fortune to get his fill of this kind of life. After tossing on the 
billows, riding through storms and undergoing all the other hardships 
of seafaring for ten years, it was with an increased stock of experience 
but no considerable improvement in his e.xchefpier that Mr. Forsyth 
stepped ashore after his decade of dallying with the inconstant sea. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 473 

About this time, or, more specifically, in August, 1857, he took to him- 
self a wife, and this event set him to thinking that it was desiral)le to 
establish a permanent home. With this end in view he crossed the 
Atlantic in 1858 to Canada, but soon crossed the border into the states 
and eventually drifted to Rock Island, Illinois, where he found lodg- 
ment and work. For some years after his arrival he found what the 
loggers call "rough sledding," 1)ut his sailor's career had inured him 
to hardship, and he buckled d(.)wn manfully to such hard tasks as he 
had undertaken to do. For twenty-three years Mr. Forsyth put in his 
time between coal mining and farming, spending eight years at Rock 
Island, the other fifteen in Poweshiek county, Iowa. Subsequently he 
lived awhile in Keokuk county, and eventually found his way to Appa- 
noose county, where he selected a location at Mystic that proved to be 
permanent. During his stay in Poweshiek county Mr, Forsyth resumed 
work as a mine operator, but the venture proved unsuccessful. At 
W'hatcheer, Iowa, he embarked in the drug business, and during the ten 
years of its continuance at that point found the knowledge acquired 
during his apprenticeship in Scotland could be put to practical use. At 
the present time Mr. Forsyth is conducting the drug business at Mystic, 
in partnership with bis son, and they also have a branch establishment 
at Redfield, under the firm name of Robert Forsyth & Company. 

Of late years fortune has smiled upon tlie Scottish sailor, and with 
constantly improving financial conditions he is able to say with King 
Richard: "Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer 
by this sun of York, and all tlie clouds that hovered o'er our house are 
in the deep bosom of the ocean l)uried." The lady whom Mr. Forsyth 
married in 1857 was Betsie Butter, wlio has borne him a large family of 
children, all of whom grew to maturitv and are well settled in the 



474 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

world, their names being: James C, Donald W., David B., Robert J.. 
Dugal R., Isabella, Mary E., Jesse and Lizzie. The parents are mem- 
bers of the Presbyterian church, while Mr. Forsyth also holds fraternal 
connections with the Masons and Independent Order of Odd Fellows. 



DAVID DINNING. 

Connected with the development of the rich coal deposits of Iowa, 
David Dinning is now accounted one of the most prosperous business 
men of Cincinnati, Iowa. At the age of fourteen years he started out 
in life for himself, and though but a boy from that time forward he 
earned his own living, and whatever success he has since achieved is a 
direct result of his own labors. He was born in Ayreshire, Scotland, 
on the 27th of April, 1859, and is a son of Matthew and Martha 
(Nicol) Dinning, who were also natives of Scotland. His paternal 
grandfather, Hugh Dinning, was a son of Matthew Dinning, who was a 
sexton, or Scottish beagle. His marked characteristics made him the 
subject of many anecdotes which are told in Dean Ramsey's "Anec- 
dotes of the Scottish Worthies." The parents of our subject had ten 
children, of whom five are now living and are residents of Cincinnati. 
The father and mother came to the United States in 1884, taking up 
their abode in Cincinnati, Iowa, where Mr. Dinning is still living at 
the ripe old age of seventy-six years. His wife, however, passed away 
in 1890 at the age of fifty-nine years. 

David Dinning was the first of the family to come to America. He 
crossed the Atlantic in 1880 when twenty-one years of age, believing 
that he might better his financial condition in the new world with its 
broader business opportunities. He had gained a fair education in the 




DAYID DIKHIHG. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 477 

schools of Scotland, and at the age of eleven years had begun to mine 
coal. After a short duration following his arrival in the United States, 
he came to Appanoose county, Iowa, where he has since lived. For 
two years he was employed as a coal miner at Centerville, and in Aug- 
ust, 1883, he came to Cincinnati, where he obtained similar work, but 
his ability soon won him promotion and he was made manager of the 
Cincinnati Joint Stock Company in control of the Appanoose mine, 
which position he continued to fill until 1888. In that year, with three 
of his brothers and two of his brothers-in-law, he formed a partnership 
under the name of the Thistle Coal Company, and they began the de- 
velopment of the Thistle coal mine, sinking a shaft and carrying on the 
work with energy. In 1892 Mr. Dinning, associated with David Steel, 
purchased the interest of all the other partners and now these two gen- 
tlemen are in control of three paying mines, the second one being known 
as the Thistle Mine No. 2, and the third. The Merchants mine, known 
as Thistle Mine No. 3. Annually under their supervision a large amount 
of coal is taken from the earth and placed upon the markets, where it 
commands a good price, and brings to the mine operators a desirable 
financial return for their labor. 

In 1881 Mr. Dinning was united in marriage to Miss Jane Ross, 
also a native of Scotland, and to them were born four children : Mary 
Belle, now the wife of J. A. Cochrane, doctor of dental surgery at Cin- 
cinnati, Iowa; Matthew and Martha, both of whom are deceased; and 
George, who completes the family. The parents are zealous members 
of the Congregational church, and Mr. Dinning is a Royal Arch Mason. 
In his political views he is a Republican, but the demands of his business 
give him no time for seeking public office. His career proves that the 
only true success in life is that which is accomplished by personal ef- 



478 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

fort and consecutive industry. It proves that the road to success is 
open to all young men who have the courage to tread its pathway, and 
the life record of such a man should serv^e as an inspiration to the 
young of this and future generations, and teach by incontrovertible 
facts that success is ambition's answer. 

CARRIE A. HAKES. 

This lady, who resides on her farm near Centerville, is one of those 
interesting links which connect the pioneer past with the progressive 
present. Although by no means a very old woman, her life covers the 
whole of that period during which Iowa grew from raw prairie to the 
finest 1>ody of agricultural land in the whole world. During her resi- 
dence here of about fortj'-seven years it has been the fortune of Mrs. 
Hakes to witness most of the important steps which have led to the 
Iowa of to-day. When she came the state was comparatively undevel- 
oped and the population was still small, and she has seen the mar- 
velous growth which step by step and decade by decade proceeded until 
this great trans-Mississippi commonwealth achieved an acknowledged 
supremacy among all the agricultural states of the Union. It is in- 
structive to review, even though briefly, the lives of such old residents 
as Mrs. Hakes, as they represent a period and can tell us of conditions 
which have passed away, never to return, and only in books specially 
devoted to such subjects or from the lips of the few surviving partici- 
pants can we now learn of those 

" Round whose home the glory 
That blushed and bloomed 
Is but a dim-remembered story 
Of the old Time entombed." 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 479 

Carrie A. Hakes was born in Pennsylvania, April 28, 183 1, a 
daughter of A. D. Rose and Sarah (Yeager) Rose, both natives of 
New York. Pre\-ious to the birth of Mrs. Hakes they moved to Penn- 
sylvania, where the father was a farmer. After living in that state a 
number of years, the family removed to Missouri and located at Alex- 
ander, where the daughter was married to Henry Hakes, October 11, 
1854. Henry Hakes was born in New York, September 27, 1823, 
studied medicine with one of the leading physicians, and before coming 
west in 1853 had practiced with some success in his native state. Shortly 
after his marriage Dr. Hakes removed to Appanoose county, Iowa, 
where he located and resumed the practice of medicine at Centerville. 
In addition to this, he conducted a drugstore and was the first person to 
have an open' front on what is known as the west side of the square. 
In 1865 Dr. Hakes disposed of his drug business and moved to his 
farm southwest of Centerville, where he resided until his death, which 
occurred May 31, 1885. Mrs. Hakes, who has no children, still occu- 
pies the homestead and looks after all details connected with the man- 
agement of her estate. She has long been a member of the Baptist 
church, and her husband, during his lifetime, was connected with the 
same denomination. 



JAMES H. STEVENS. 

Few men of his age have had such a varied business career as the 
popular merchant whose life it is now the intention to outline. Scarcely 
any of the regular mercantile callings have escaped Mr. Stevens" activi- 
ties, and at different times he has been a carpenter, dealer in hardware, 
jeweler, general merchant, furniture dealer, keeper of a second-hand 



480 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

store, and to cap it all twice a proprietor of two different hotels. But 
Mr. Stevens' fame rests on even a more enduring foundation than that 
of having heen "all sorts of a merchant," and successful in each line. 
He is entitled to the honor of having founded the town of Mystic, which 
now holds out bright promises, but when discovered by Mr. Stevens was 
in a decidedly forlorn state. In fact, there was nothing of it at all, un- 
less two or three scattering farmhouses could be called a town, but the 
store established by Mr. Stevens made a nucleus around which in time 
grew up the now lively infant village. From these preliminary remarks 
it will be seen that James H. Stevens is an interesting man to know, and 
it is the object of this memoir to introduce the reader to his ac- 
quaintance. 

He is a son of the late Wesley Jiles and Jane (Schooler) Stevens, 
natives of Ohio, who removed to Illinois about the third decade of the 
nineteenth century and settled in the vicinity of Abingdon, where they 
engaged in farming. Some years later they moved to Iowa and located 
near Eddyville, but in 1850 returned to Illinois, where they remained 
until 1862 and again came to Iowa for permanent residence. A sojourn 
of eight years was made in Wapello county, followed in 1870 by re- 
moval to Appanoose and the selection of a location near Mystic. Dur- 
ing the last four or five years of his life Mr. Stevens resided at Mystic, 
where his death occurred in 1899, but his widow still occupies the old 
home. Mr. Stevens was a farmer all his life, Republican in his politics 
and the religious affiliations of himself and wife were with the Metho- 
dist Episcopal church. Of their nine children only five are now living. 

James H. Stevens, youngest of his father's four sons, was born 
at Abingdon, Illinois, August 24, 185 1, and he participated in the fam- 
ily's subsequent sojournings in Iowa, .\fter the usual routine and edu- 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 481 

cational experiences of farm life, he branched ont for himself at the 
age of eighteen in the trade of a carpenter. This employment engaged 
most of his time and attention for eighteen years, and in 1887 he began 
a general mercantile business at Mystic, or, rather, at what subsequently 
became Mystic, as there was no town there when Mr. Stevens became 
the pioneer merchant of the locality. He had a partner named Elgin, 
but the business was only conducted one year under the firm name of 
Stevens & Elgin, after whicii it was sold to Swanson Brothers. Subse- 
quently Mr. Stevens purchased a third interest in the same store, re- 
mained a partner for the next two years of the Swanson Brothers and 
Ewand Brothers Company, when he again disposed of his holdings. In 
1890 he went into the hardware business as senior member of the firm 
of Stevens & Heifner, which continued until 1893, when he sold his inter- 
est and retired. Meantime he had embarked in the jewelry business 
in 1892 as senior member of Stevens & Casey, but this interest he also 
disposed of after a year to Forsyth & Son. In the fall of 1893 the firm 
of J. H. Stevens & Company was formed to conduct a hardware busi- 
ness, and shortly afterward the old partnership of Stevens & Casey was 
renewed to carry on a general merchandise store. After one year this 
last mentioned interest was disposed of, and in the spring of 1894 Mr. 
Stevens purchased the Coulter & Heifner hardware store, still retaining 
his interest in the firm of J- H. Stevens & Company. To Wallace Dun- 
can, his partner in the last mentioned firm, he sold a half interest in 
the hardware store purchased from Coulter & Heifner, which was there- 
after conducted under the firm name of Duncan & Company. Later Mr. 
Stevens bought the Duncan interest in both stores and since then has 
conducted the business alone under his own name in a double room. He 
added furniture to the hardware stock, but in 1901 he sold the furniture 



482 BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

business to A. Shaw and confined liimself exclusively to his other branch. 
He carries a full line of general hardware, stoves, agricultural imple- 
ments and tinware. At one time Mr. Stevens was interested in a sec- 
ond-hand store of general goods, which he managed four years with a 
partner a portion of the time. Nor must it be omitted that twice during 
his busy career he undertook the role of "mine host." having charge of 
the Richelieu Hotel one year and the Iowa House a short time. He 
began business on the capital earned at the carpenter's trade and by farm- 
ing, and his success in various lines indicates decided skill as a financier 
as well as those "hustling" qualities indispensable to success in any line. 

The firm of Stevens & Elgin was the first to carry on a mercantile 
business at Mystic, the starting of their store in 1887 being the begin- 
ning of the town, as previous to that not a lot had been laid out and 
three farm houses were the onh- buildings in the vicinity. For the 
first six months after the birth of this embryo city goods were hauled 
from Garfield station on the Keokuk and Western Railroad, two and 
one-half miles distant. After the Milwaukee Railroad was constructed 
a station was opened and named Mystic. The same year that Mr. 
Stevens began his pioneer mercantile venture the first regularly operated 
coal mine was opened, but at present there are about thirty mines in 
the vicinity and the town has a population of over two thousand. As 
his partner only remained with him about one year, Mr. Stevens may 
truly be styled the founder of Mystic, as he certainly has been one of its 
principal business men and most enterprising citizens. 

On the social side of life Mr. Stevens is as agreeable as he is pop- 
ular in the commercial world. In 1875 he was united in marriage with 
Miss Maggie J., daughter of Robert Baker, a pioneer of Appanoose 
countv, and their familv consists of six children. Their household 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 483 

forms the central attraction tor many friends, who esteem it a privilege 
to share in its genial hospitalities. 



A. J. RICHARDSON. 

Thongh Mystic is only a fifteen year old town it is quite a lusty 
youth and has already assumed the features of an incipient city. Chiefly 
owing to the near presence of so many coal mines in full operation, the 
population lias grown rapidly, and with it business has naturally in- 
creased, which, of course, has created a demand for merchants, bank- 
ers and all the other adjuncts of civilization, and it is the object of this 
memoir to sketch an outline of the life of one who has been quite con- 
spicuous among the financiers of the li\ely little city of Mystic. Mr. 
Richardson has been identified with the place for eight years, more than 
half the age of the town, and during that time has impressed himself 
most favorably upon the business element as well as the general public. 
His father, who had the same name as himself, was a native of Ohio, 
but came to Iowa before the Civil war and passed the remainder of his 
days in this state. After his arrival he met and married Susan Bullard, 
an immigrant from Illinois, located on a farm in Lee county, and lived 
there until his wife's death, in 1880, in the forty-ninth year of her age. 
Seven years after this bereavement, the father removed to \Vayne 
county. Iowa, where he died in 1895 at the age of seventy. 

A. J. Richardson, one of the five sur\-iving children, was born at 
Fort Madison, Iowa, May 29, 1869, and grew to maturity on his father's 
farm. Besides attendance in the country schools he had the benefit of 
a course in the business college at Burlington, where he was graduated 
in the class of 1890. For a short time after leaving sgliool he was book- 



4S4 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

keeper in a bank at Promise City, later was promoted to the position of 
cashier in the same institution and Iield this place about two years. In 
December, 1894, Mr. Richardson was made assistant cashier of Brad- 
ley's Bank at IMystic and three years later was given the position of 
cashier, \\-hich he has since held. 

In ]\Iay, 1897, Mr. Richardson was united in marriage with Miss 
Ella Taylor, one of the popular young ladies of Mystic, and their house- 
hold is one of the most attractive social features of the town. Besides 
his qualifications as a business man, Mr. Richardson is recommended to 
his friends and wide circle of acquaintances by his courteous address 
and genial manner. He is fond of club life and gratifies this feeling of 
fellowship by connection with Masonry, in which he has reached the 
Knight Templar degree, the Elks and Modern Woodmen of America. 



ALBERT ROBB SCOTT. 

Owing to the fact that he has held the office of justice of the peace 
for many years Mr. Scott has naturally become a prominent and well 
known personage at Mystic. In addition to his judicial position, how- 
ever, he has been connected with the town almost from its birth in the 
shoe-repairing business or as real estate dealer. In these various capaci- 
ties, which have brought him in constant contact with the public, Mr. 
Scott has become acquainted with almost everybody for miles around 
and he has many friends who entertain for him a warm personal re- 
gard. He is the son of John Scott, who came from Indiana in the 
spring of 185 1 and located on a farm in Appanoose county, a part of 
which was later used as the site of Walnut City. He arrived in Iowa 
with limited means, but managed to buy a small body of land, which 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 485 

he improved, and eventually placed himself in comfortable circum- 
stances. Aside from farming he did some promoting and was the 
builder of the Christian church at Walnut City. By his first marriage 
in Indiana he had five children, all daughters, and by a second union, 
with Mary Robb, he had six sons and three daughters. He and his 
wife were members of the Christian church, which they joined in Indi- 
ana under the ministrations of the celebrated Alexander Campbell. Mr. 
Scott continued to farm with success until his death in i860 at the com- 
paratively early age of fifty-six years. 

Albert Robb Scott, one of the children by his father's second mar- 
riage, was born in Morgan county, Indiana, November 8, 1848, and was 
consequently but three years old when brought to Iowa by his parents. 
He grew up on the farm, was trained to its work, and during the first 
forty years of his life knew no other occupation except that connected 
with agriculture. In 1882 he went to South Dakota, but after trying 
the opportunities of that new state for six years concluded to return to 
Appanoose county, which has since remained his constant place of resi- 
dence. In 1888 he located at Mystic and opened a shoe-repairing shop, 
which he conducted until October, 1901, and then engaged in the real 
estate business. Considering that he began business on his own account 
in the sixteenth year of his age, without any special advantages, Mr. 
Scott may look complacently over his career as one of comparative suc- 
cess, as he now owns considerable real estate, all accumulated in the last 
fifteen years. In 1889 he was appointed justice of the peace and by sub- 
sequent elections has held the office ten years, though not continuously. 
and has made a good record as a dispenser of justice and dispatcher of 
business. 

On February 18, 1869, Mr. Scott was united in marriage with Miss 



486 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

Amanda Long of Appanoose county, and of the eleven children born to 
this union there are ten living, seven sons and three daughters. Mr. 
Scott's political predilections have always been decidedly Republican, 
and his fraternal connections have been confined to membership in the 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Modern Woodmen of America. 



JOSIAH SAMUEL WAILES, M. D. 

Physicians are indispensable adjuncts of new towns, whose rapid 
growth, lack of sanitary regulations and other dangers incident to munic- 
ipal adolesence are apt to make calls for the doctor frequent and per- 
sistent. They might make an effort to get along for awhile without 
lawyers or dentists or even preachers, but doctors they must have. In 
this connection it is not too much to say that the growing town of 
^lystic was rather fortunate when Dr. Wailes settled there, inasmuch 
as he is what is called in the west a "hustler," that is. a man of unusual 
energv, and besides is an excellent physician and surgeon and on the 
whole "a royal good fellow." The Doctor's people came from Alary- 
land, but were so long identified with Indiana as to be entitled to the 
name of "genuine Hoosiers." John P. Wailes and Sarah Wilson were 
both born in Maryland and both migrated to Indiana, where they met 
and married, but later removed to Iowa and settled in Appanoose county. 
It was in 1855 that they took up their abode on a farm in Chariton 
township and here both ended their days, the mother in 1862 and the 
father twenty years later. They reared a family of eight children, 
equally divided between sons and daughters. 

Josiah Samuel Wailes, one of the sons of the couple just described, 
was born at Wailesboro, Bartholomew county, Indiana, Tune 2\, 1848, 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 487 

and was therefore seven years old when his parents made their migra- 
tion to Iowa. He grew up on the paternal homestead in Appanoose 
county and olitained the princijial part of his education in the schools at 
Iconium. He had early conccix'ed a desire to enter the medical profes- 
sion, and with a view to gratify this ambition became a pupil in the 
office of Dr. Abel Jewett. After studying diligently for a year under 
this able preceptor, the youthful aspirant for professional honors went 
to Kansas, opened an office at Peabody and practiced there nine years 
in partnership with Dr. George M. Gronnett. After this experience 
Dr. Wailes entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Keokuk 
and was graduated by that institution in the class of 1889. Immediately 
thereafter he located at Brazil, Iowa, practiced there three years and in 
189 1 came to Mystic, where he has ever since been one of the features 
of the place. 

In 1891 Dr. Wailes was married to Sarah J. Cross, who died in 
1897, leaving five children. In 1902 he took a second wife in the per- 
son of Mrs. Susa M. Stoole, whose maiden name had been Cunningham, 
and there is no more popular couple in Mystic social circles than the 
Doctor and his amiable wife. Dr. Wailes is justly entitled to rank as a 
strictly self-made man, as he owes all he has and all he has done to his 
own practically unaided exertions. As previously stated, he is a man 
of great energy of character and has no superior in the rapid and effi- 
cient dispatch of business, both ordinary and professional. 

JOHN J. STONE. 

All the states of the Union have contributed to the population of 
Iowa, but perhaps none have sent a more generous stream than Ohio. 
Much of this, too, mav be said to have been l)v "infiltration" rather th;ui 



48S BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

direct contribution, that is, the immigrants first came to Ohio from the 
east or south and later moved fartlier west. Inckided in this class was 
James ]\I. Stone, whose father was one of three brothers who emigrated 
from England to the United States in the latter part of the eighteenth 
century and made their subsequent homes in Connecticut. James mar- 
ried Ann Eliza Wilcox, a native of New Jersey, of German descent, and 
with her joined the tide of emigration to Ohio, where they lived for a 
number of years, and in 1858 came to Iowa. He lx)Ught a home in 
Johns township, Appanoose county, which he cultivated for a livelihood 
during the remainder of his days. His wife died in 1871 in the fifty- 
eighth year of her age and his own life was terminated by death in 1898 
when eighty-seven years old. They were both members of the Metho- 
dist Episcopal church and their cliildren consisted of fi\'e boys and two 
girls. 

John J. Stone, one of his father's five sons, was torn in Ashtabula 
county, Ohio, February 4, 1842, and was about Sxteen years old when 
brought to Iowa by his parents. There was nothing out of the ordinary 
either in his rearing or his schooling, the first notable event in his 
career occurring in September, 1861, when he became a soldier of the 
Union for service in the Civil war. His enlistment was in a company 
that had been raised in Johns township, but as Iowa's quota of seventy- 
five thousand men under the President's call was already full it could 
not be accepted by the governor of that state. They had better success, 
however, with the chief executive of Kansas, who had them enrolled as 
a company in the Fifth Regiment, Kansas Cavalry. They were mus- 
tered in without delay and Mr. Stone served altogether for more than 
three years and three months, part of the time with Harvey's Company 
from Iowa and later by transfer as a member of Company H (Thomp- 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 489 

son's). Fifth Regiment, Kansas Cavalrw Besides nnmerous skirmishes 
Mr. Stone took part in tlie more serious engagements at Helena, Little 
Rock, Pine Bluff. Yazix) Pass, and when mustered out in iSfi5 had 
reached the rank of corporal. After returning from the arm)' he jnn"- 
chased a farm in Johns townshi]) and cultivated it for a li\-elihood until 
1880, when he engageil in merchandising at Piano. Thirteen years 
later he located at j\Iystic, and this proved to be his final move, as he 
lias ever since been one of the active commercial spirits of the town, the 
firm name at the present being J. J. Stone & Son. He has l)een quite 
successful in business and his entire career, both in war and peace, has 
been creditable to him as a man and citizen. 

In 1865 Mr. Stone was married to Sarah E. Cole, by whom he has 
five children: Zena M., James M., Celia E., Albertus and Arthur, all 
married except the last and all four of the sons merchants. Mr. Stone's 
political preferences are for the Republican party, but his office-holding 
has been confined to two terms as mayor of Mystic and eight years as 
justice of the peace in Johns township. He has been a member of the 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows for twenty-five years, and by virtue 
of his honorable military services is an esteemed comrade of Centerville 
Post, G. A. R. 

WILLIAM SAYRES, M. D. 

Dr. WHliam Sayres, now deceased, has left behind him the memory 
of an upright life as well as one of professional skill and ability. He 
was the loved physician in many a household in Appanoose county and 
enjoyed the warm regard of those with whom he came in contact liotli 
professionally and socially. Fie was born in Harrison county, Ohio, 
December 24, 1818. and jussed away in Cincinnati, Iowa, March 14, 



490 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

1897. He was reared upon the farm belonging to his father, Ephriam 
Sayres, of Harrison county, and was given a common school education. 
Later he was apprenticed to learn the tailor's trade, and after the expira- 
tion of his term of service followed that pursuit for a few years, but a 
natural predilection for the study of medicine led him to prepare for the 
practice, and he began his leading toward that end in Freeport, Ohio. 
For two years he continued his reading under a practicing physician 
who acted as his preceptor, and then began the practice of medicine in 
Westchester, Ohio, where he remained for a year. He also practiced 
for a similar period at Marietta, that state, and in 185 1 came to the 
west, locating in Drakesville, Iowa, whence he came to Cincinnati in 
1855. Here he practiced for about six years and then on account of 
failing health abandoned the practice of medicine and on a very limited 
capital engaged in the grocery business. In the new undertaking, how- 
ever, he prospered, and soon had a general store, doing a large volume 
of business. He was assisted by his sons, O. H. and A. M. Sayres, the 
former becoming his partner in 1877 and the latter in 1880, after which 
the firm was known as Sayres & Sons, general merchants. At the time 
of the father's death in 1897 O. H. Sayres became sole proprietor of the 
store. 

In politics Doctor Sayres was first a Whig and afterward a Republi- 
can. He served as a delegate to the first Republican state convention 
of Iowa, held at Iowa City, traveling on horseback to take part in the 
deliberations of the new political organization. In July, 1861, he was 
appointed by President Lincoln to the position of postmaster of Cin- 
cinnati and continuously thereafter held the office up to the time of the 
first administration of President Cleveland, discharging his duties in a 
most capable manner, which won for him the high commendation of all 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 401 

concerned. In 1876 lie xisitcd the Centennial Exposition at Philadel- 
phia and there saw nian_\- things of interest giving evidence of the 
world's progress, fie was always pnlilic spirited, and his natnre was 
never narrow or restricted, re juicing only in the advancement of his 
local comninnit}'. 

In Deceniljer. 1841, Dr. Sayres was united in marriage in Ohio to 
Miss Mary Hannah Winders, a native of Harrison county, Ohio, born 
August 20, 1822. She still survives him and is now one of the oldest 
residaits of the county, making her home in Cincinnati. Of the chil- 
dren born of this marriage, four died in early life while the following 
reached years of maturity: John D., born in Ohio, in 1843, was a 
hardware merchant of Cincinnati, and died September 24, 1895; Oscar 
H. and Arlington M. are both mentioned on another page of this work; 
Mary C. is the only sur\'i\'ing daughter of the family. For many years 
the Doctor and his wife were members of the Congregational church, to 
the support of which he contrilnited liberally, while in its work he took 
an active part and zealously promoted its efforts in behalf of mankind. 
He served at one time as mayor and was one of the influential and iion- 
ored members of the communit)-. Those r|ualities which ever command 
respect and regard were his ; he was kind, a quality which tempered 
his inflexible love of justice; he was ever true to what he belie\-ed to be 
right and neither fear nor favor could swerve him in defending his 
honest convictions, yet he was always lenient in passing judgment upon 
others and was ever ready to assist those in need. Well known in Cin- 
cinnati, no man enjoyed the respect and good will of his fellow citizens 
more than did Dr. Sayres. 



492 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

OSCAR H. SAYRES. 

Throughout his entire business career O. H. Sayres has been con- 
nected with the mercantile interests of Cincinnati and throughout the 
greater part of his hfe he has Hved in this place. Not to know O. H. 
Sayres is to argue one's self unknown, for through the long years of his 
residence here, because of his prominence in public affairs, his activity 
in business and his social nature, his acquaintance has constantly 
widened. He was born in Harrison county, Ohio, August 5, 1847, and 
was only four years of age when brought to Iowa by his parents, Dr. 
William and Alary Hannah (^W'inders) Sayres. He was not yet eight 
years of age when the family came to Cincinnati. Here he acquired his 
education in the common schools and in early life entered upon his 
business career as a clerk in his father's store. In 1877 he was admitted 
to a partnership in the business, and in 1880 his brother, A. M. Sayres, 
also became a partner, this relation Ijeing maintained until the death of 
the father in 1897. At that time the younger brother withdrew and 
Oscar H. Sayres has since been sole proprietor. Since igoi he has been 
engaged in the hardware trade, carrying a complete stock of the best 
goods in his line. He has a well arranged and handsome store and liis 
is an active and successful business career. When associated with his 
father he was engaged in general merchandising. 

In 1878 occurred the marriage of Oscar H. Sayres and Miss Liz- 
zie Johns, a native of Ohio. Two children graced this marriage: Lois 
E. and George C, both of whom are still with their parents. The latter 
was born in Cincinnati, August 8, 1880, and was provided with a high 
school education ; he is now associated with his father in business, and is 
a Master Mason. Mr. Sayres is also identified with the ]\Iasonic order, 
having taken the degrees of the blue lodge. He and his wife are mem- 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 493 

bers of the Congregational church, to which their children also belong. 
The family is an influential and leading one in the community. Mr. 
Sayres exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and 
measures of the Republican party, but has never sought or desired of- 
fice, preferring to give his entire time and attention to his business, 
which has been attended bv gratifving success. 



ARLINGTON I\I. SAYRES. 

Arlington AI. Sayres. a general merchant of Cincinnati, was born 
in Drakesville, Iowa. June 6, 1854, and is a son of the late Dr. Wil- 
liam Sayres, who is represented alx>ve in this work. During his jnfancy 
he was brought to Cincinnati by his parents and was here reared and 
educated. Early in life he received his business training as a clerk in 
his father's general store and in 1880 he was admitted to a partnership 
in the business in which his brother Oscar H. Sayres had become a part- 
ner three years before. Under the firm name of Sayres & Sons the busi- 
ness was conducted until the father's death in 1897. ^"ot long after this 
our subject sold out to his brother and turned his attention to the hard- 
ware trade, but later disposed of his stock of goods in that line and 
was out of business for two years. On the ist of .-Vugust, 190 1, how- 
ever, he again became a potent factor in trade circles of Cincinnati by 
opening a general mercantile establishment, which he has since con- 
ducted. He is today enjoying a large and growing patronage, his well 
selected stock finding favor with the public, so that his sales are quite 
extensive, and thereby a good profit accrues. 

In 1883 Mr. Sayres wedded Miss Clara Orr, of Davis countv, Iowa, 
and two children have blessed this marriage, Bvron and Lela. aged re- 



494 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

spectively seventeen and thirteen years. The son is associated with his 
fatlier in mercantile pursuits. The family are all members of the Con- 
gregational church. Their home is celebrated for its gracious hospital- 
ity, which is enjoyed by a large circle of acquaintances, who are many 
in the community. Mr. Sayres's study of the political issues and ques- 
tions of the day has made him an ardent Republican. Fraternally he 
is connected with the Modern Woodmen of America. As a representa- 
tive business man of his community Mr. Sayres is widely respected and 
honored by those who know him. 

WILLIAM BARTON McDONALD. 

During his long life the gentleman above named has spent a good 
deal of time in three dififerent states, but has been a resident of Ap- 
panoose county for nearly half a century. While his career has not 
been especially adventurous, it has been one of usefulness, and contrib- 
utory to the full extent of his abilities to the welfare of each and every 
community in which he has resided. More than this no man can do, and 
it will be well with the best of us if the same can be truthfully said 
when we come to render the final accounting for deeds done in the 
flesh. Thomas McDonald, who was a native of Maryland, found his 
way to Kentucky when it was still the "dark and bloody ground" of 
song and story, and became a participant with the other settlers in the 
adventures incident to the pioneer period. Some years after arriving 
there he met and married Frances Smoot, a native of the state, and who 
had li\-ed for twenty years in Kentucky. In 1846 he remo\-ed with his 
family to Indiana, but within a year after reaching that state the final 
summons came both to himself and wife, and the children were left to 
shift for themselves. 




MR. AND MRS. WILLIAM E. McDONALD. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AAW GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 497 

William Barton McDonald was born in Kentucky on the 15th of 
January, in 18 18, and was consequently twenty-eight years old when his 
parents took uj) their residence in the Hoosier state. He spent his 
twenty-first year in the college at Bloomington, Illinois, and for some 
time afterwards was engaged in farming in the Indiana counties of 
Montgomery, Jennings and Monroe. Mr. McDonald was a resident of 
Hendricks count}', in the same state, for twenty years, six of which 
were devoted to school teaching and fourteen to farming. On No- 
vember 5, 1847, li*^ ^^''is married to Lucinda Dale, and eight years later 
removed with his wife to Appanoose county, of which they have been 
honored residents for forty-seven years. Originally Mr. McDonald lo- 
cated three miles northeast of Centerville, where he owned three hun- 
dred and seventy-six acres of land, most of which was subsequently 
sold or divided among the children. The latter were eight in number 
and the ones now living are Mrs. Mary Frances Shaw, George W., 
John D., Mrs. Emma Florence Long, and Henry McDonald. Those 
deceased are James W., Thomas J., and Mrs. Luella Jane Evans. In 
1902 Mr. and Mrs. McDonald took up their abode at Centerville and 
have since been comfortably located in a cosy home on Seventh street. 
They are both members of the Christian church at Centerville, and are 
objects of almost reverential esteem by those who are familiar with their 
blameless lives and exalted worth. Mr. McDonald holds fraternal 
connections with Lodge No. 42, F. and A. M., of which he has been a 
member in good standing for twenty-six years. 



498 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

ROBERT W. DINNING. 

Among tlie young lousiness men of Cincinnati is numbered Robert 
W. Dinning, tbe senior member of the firm of Dinning & Mitchell, gen- 
eral merchants. He is a member of a prominent Scotch family of this 
county and his birth occurred in Ayrshire, Scotland, on the 9th of July, 
1868, his parents being Matthew and Martha (Nicol) Dinning. Reared 
and educated in Scotland, he came to the United States in 1886 with 
his parents and has since lived in this place. He was only twelve years 
of age when he began earning his own living in Scotland by working 
in the coal mines and after coming to America lie followed the same 
occupation in this county for ten years. For five years he was a part- 
ner of the Thistle Coal Company, but sold his interest therein in 1892. 
In 1895 he began merchandising here and has since conducted his store 
with excellent success. In 1897 he admitted W. L. Mitchell to a part- 
nership, and they have since enjoyed a good and constantly growing 
trade. They do not find it difficult to retain patrons whose support has 
once been secured, and this is due, doubtless, to their honorable business 
methods, their promptness and their earnest desire to please. Mr. Din- 
ning possesses the qualities which make a popular merchant. He is 
genial and approachable, and has the tact to know how to meet the 
varied natures which one continually sees when engaged in any mer- 
cantile enterprise. 

In 1895 occurred the marriage of Mr. Dinning and Miss Agnes 
Bowie, of Cincinnati, and they now have two children, Ellen and Mat- 
thew. The parents hold membership in the Congregational church and 
Mr. Dinr.ing is a Master Mason, while in his political views he is a 
Republican, unswerving in his support of the principles of the party. 
In his life he exemplifies many of the strongest and most commendable 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 499 

elements of the Scottish nation, inchuhng thrift, business sagacity, 
strong purpose and absolute justice. 



HANCE MITCHELL. 

Coming to .\ppanoose coimty in limited financial circumstances, 
Hance Alitchell. b}- his well spent life, proved the force of industry, econ- 
omy and energy in winning success. At the same time he tnade for himself 
an honorable name and gained the respect of all with whom he came in 
contact. Although some years have passed since he departed this life, 
he is yet remembered by the many who knew him and entertained for 
him a high regard. He was born in Pennsylvania in the year 1801 and 
died in Pleasant township, Appanoose county, in 1868. At an early 
age he was left an orphan and was then l)ound out to learn the carpen- 
ter's trade. In his youth he left Pennsylvania and went to Ohio, settling 
in Guernsey county, where he still continued to follow the carpetiter's 
trade. There he marrietl Miss Charity Hunt, who was born in Guern- 
sey county, Ohio, about iSio, and who died in Appanoose county in 
1867. They resided in Ohio until 1853, when they removed westward 
to Illinois, spending about two years in that state. In 1855 they went 
to Clarke county, Iowa, and there resided for ten years, settling in Ap- 
panoose county on the 23d of February, 1865, as residents of Pleasant 
township, where their remaining days were passed. The father fol- 
lowed farming throughout his entire married life, and his careful man- 
agement of his land enabled him t(i win a fair degree of success in this 
way. 

Before leaving Ohio twelve children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Mitchell,. Init four of that number died in childhood. The others who 



500 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

reached mature years were: Cynthia, who married G. W. Banker, 
and died, leaving several children: John V., a resident of Clarke 
countv; Joseph, of Lafayette county, Missouri; Hiram, who is living in 
Clarke county, this state; Albert, of Appanoose county; Robert, who 
makes his home in Oklahoma ; Preston, who was married and died, leav- 
ing several children; and Martha, who married W. L. Robertson, and 
died, leaving two children. All of the sons became farmers. 

When Hance Mitchell came to the west he had little capital, and it 
was to better his condition that he sought a home beyond the Mississippi. 
His determination to do this was attended with good results. He pur- 
chased eight hundred acres of land in Clarke county at a time when 
farm land sold for a low figure. He afterward disposed of his property, 
and came to Appanoose county rather as a prospector than anything 
else, but here he spent his remaining days. In his political affiliations 
he was first a Whig and afterward a Republican. Both he and his wife 
were members of the Christian church and their religious belief was 
manifest in their relations with their fellow men. They closely followed 
the golden rule and were people of the highest respectability, respected 
and honored wherever known. They became worthy pioneer settlers 
of Appanoose county and deserve mention among the representative 
citizens who have contributed to the upbuilding of the county. 

Albert Mitchell, a son of Hance Mitchell, was born on the old home 
farm in Guernsey county, Ohio, April i, 1846. When twenty years of 
age he accompanied his parents on their removal to Appanoose county, 
where he has since made his home. He was reared upon a farm and 
acquired a fair common school education. He afterward engaged in 
teaching for a few years, being employed for two terms as a teacher in 
the village of Cincinnati, and during the remainder of the time in the dis- 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 501 

trict scliools. Farming, however, lias been his real hfc work and along 
that line he has met with success. After his marriage he lived upon the 
old homestead which liis father purchased until about 1880, when he 
settled upon his present farm just at the southwest corner of Cincinnati. 
A part of' this farm has now been laid out in town lots and good resi- 
dences have been erected thereon. In connection with his agricultural 
pursuits Mr. Mitchell has dealt in stock, his enterprise in this branch of 
the business bringing to him a good return. He has two hundred acres 
in his residence farm and he also owns three hundred and twenty acres 
in another part of Pleasant township. He is a practical and progressive 
agriculturist, keqiing in touch with all modern methods, which indicates 
that the farmer is not behind his city l)rothers in impro\-ement or ad- 
vancement. 

In 1871 Mr. Mitchell was united in marriage to Eliza Jane Hol- 
brook, a daughter of Luther R. Hollirtxik. one of the pioneer citizens of 
Pleasant township and of Cincinnati. Their marriage has been blessed 
with two children: Charles H., now deceased; and Wesley L., who is 
a member of the firm of Dinning & Mitchell, dry goods merchants of 
Cincinnati. The parents hold membership in the Congregational 
church. For thirty-seven years Mr. Mitchell has been a resident of this 
county and has therefore witnessed much of its growth and development. 
His life has been quietly passed, yet he has always been found faithful 
to his duties of citizenship, and in business life has won the respect and 
confidence of his fellow men by his reputable dealing and justice in all 
trade transactions. 



502 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

GEORGE W. McKEEHAN. 

McKeehan & Brothers has long been a popular mercantile firm at 
Cincinnati and it is the object of this biography to give a brief outline 
of the career of the senior member. He is a native of Iowa and a son 
of pioneer parents who became identified with this vigorous western 
state in the days when it was but sparsely populated. David McKee- 
han, who was Ijorn in Ohio in 1814, came west with his two brothers, 
Bazil and James, in 1843, and located on a farm in Lee county, Iowa, 
and in 1846 came to Centerville. Before leaving Ohio he had married 
Susan Hankins, a native of that state, and by her he had the following 
named children: Hankins C., now of Centerville; Lovina, wife of Dr. 
Ames Patterson; Belle, wife of Porter Sparks; Sarah, a residait of Cen- 
terville; John K., of St. Paul, Minnesota; Samuel A., of Cincinnati; 
Cassie, wife of Frank Fisk ; and George W. The father of this family 
was a Methodist in religion, a Democrat in politics and a farmer by oc- 
cupation until his untimely death by a stroke of lightning in 1868. His 
wife survived him until 1881, when she passed away in the fifty-third 
year of her age. 

George W. McKeehan, youngest of the children, was born on his 
father's farm in Appanoose county, Iowa, March 18, 1862, and received 
a fair common school education as he grew to years of maturity. In 
1884 he branched out for himself by engaging in the butchering busi- 
ness, and opened a meat market at Cincinnati in partnership with his 
brother, Samuel A. Since that time the brothers have continued to- 
gether in business, but at the present time are conducting a general mer- 
chandise store. In 1893 ^f''- McKeehan was appointed postmaster of 
Cincinnati by President Cleveland and held that position for a term of 
four years. He pro\-ed a popular ofiicial, just as he has proved a popu- 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 503 

lar butcher and niLTcliaiit, and he is certainly one of the enterprising 
men of liis adopted town, in 1S84 Mr. McKeelian was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Minnie May, who shares with him the friendship of an 
extensive social acquaintance. His political predilections have always 
been Democratic, and his fraternal connections are confined to mem- 
bership in the Knights of Pythias, the Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
lows and the Modern Woodmen. 



IMMER FOWLER. 

Appanoose county figures as one of the most attractive, progressive 
and prosperous divisions of the state of Iowa, justly claiming a high 
order of citizenship and a spirit of enterprise which is certain to gain 
marked advancement in the material upbuilding of the section. The 
county has been and is signally favored in the class of men who have 
controlled its affairs in official capacity, and in this connection the sub- 
ject of this review demands representation as one who has served the 
county faithfully and well in positions of distinct trust and responsi- 
bility. He is now serving as postmaster of Cincinnati, a position which 
he has occupied continuously since 1897. 

Mr. Fowler was born in Noble county, Ohio, October i, 1843, his 
parents being Cherry V. and Elizabeth (Bond) Fowler. The father 
was born in New Hampshire and when six years of age accompanied his 
parents on their removal to Noble county, Ohio. He was a son of 
Lemuel Fowler, also a native of the old Granite state. The ancestors of 
the family came from England. The grandfather was a farmer by oc- 
cupation and after his removal to the west remained a resident of Ohio 
until his death. Cherry V. I'owder was reared in the Buckeye state and 



504 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

as a companion and helpmeet for life's journey chose Miss Elizabeth 
Bond, wiio was Imrn in Harrison county, Ohio. The}- Ijecame the par- 
ents of fifteen children, nine sons and six daughters, and five of the sons 
were loA-al defenders of the Union cause in the Civil war. The father 
was a farmer by occupation, and with his wife at the time of their mar- 
riage settled upon a farm in Xoble county, Ohio, there living together 
for sixty-four }ears, their mutual love and confidence increasing as time 
passed by, for theirs was an ideal marriage relation. Mrs. Fowler died 
at the age of eighty-one years, while her husband reached the advanced 
age of eighty-seven years. 

Upon the home farm Immer Fowler was reared and in the comiuon 
schools of the neighborhood obtained his education. He was but eigh- 
teen years of age when he ofl:'ered his services to the governiuent. enlist- 
ing as a private of Company G, Seventy-eighth Ohio Infantry, with 
which he served from the 24th of December, 1861, until the nth of 
July, 1865, having re-enlisted on the ist of January. 1864. At the time 
he was discharged he held the rank of sergeant. He had participated 
in many important battles, including that of Fort Donelson. Shiloh, the 
siege of Corinth, \'icksburg, the Atlanta campaign and Sherman's march 
to the sea. He likewise participated in the grand review at Washing- 
ton and was mustered out at Louisville, Kentucky, after which he re- 
turned to his Ohio home. In 1863, while his company and others were 
at Louisville,- Kentucky, awaiting the mustering out, there was issued 
a general order to furlough three men from each company, but in order 
to increase the number the division commander issued an order that 
each company elect a fourth man from its ranks, and Mr. Fowler's com- 
pany chose him as this fourth man. This was an honor conferred upon 
him and indicates the standing he held with his comrades, who further- 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 505 

more manifested their friendship for him and their trust in him by plac- 
ing in his charge a large sum of money which they wished to be carried 
to their several homes in his vicinity, tlie sum aggregating between two 
and three thousand dollars. 

Mr. Fowler remained in Ohio for only about a year and in 1867 
came to Appanoose county, Iowa, settling in Caldwell township upon a 
farm. He carried on agricultural pursuits here until 189 1 and in the 
meantime gave considerable attention to teaching. He followed that 
profession for twenty-four jears, from 1866 until 1890, in Ohio, Iowa 
and Missouri, and was a capable instructor and gave general satisfaction 
in every district in which he was employed. At the same time he car- 
ried on his farm work through the summer months, but in 1891 he 
abandoned the plow and remo\-ed to Exline and two years later to Cin- 
cinnati, where he engaged in merchandising until appointed postmaster 
on the 23d of Jul}'. 1897. He has since occupied the office and his ad- 
ministration of its affairs has been practical, businesslike and sys- 
tematic, showing that he has gained the commendation of all fair-minded 
citizens. 

In 1868 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Fowler and Miss Mary 
Steward. They have five children : Charles C, a physician in Des 
Moines, Iowa; Ella D., wife of H. E. Johnson, of Caldwell township; 
Hattie I., wife of J. C. Bohne, who resides in St. Louis; Bert E., a stu- 
dent in Des Mdines; Ethel, in school at home. Mr. Fowler is identified 
with the Rq:)ublican party, having long supported its principles, and he 
maintains pleasant relationshiii with his old army comrades through his 
membership in the Grand Army of the Republic. He is also a member 
of the Methodist Episcopal church and is interested in the moral, intel- 
lectual and material de\'elo])mcnt of his community. True to his duty 



506 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

upon southern battlefields, he has been equally loyal to the best interests 
of his country in times of peace, and is now proving his fidelity to the 
government b\- capable ser\ice as one of its official representatives. 



JAMES VALENTINE LESENEY. 

Among the earnest and enterprising men whose depth of character 
and strict adherence to principles excite the admiration of their con- 
temporaries. James Valentine Leseney is prominent. Banking interests 
are the heart of the commercial bod_\'. indicating healthfulness of trade, 
and the bank that follows a safe, conservative business policy does more 
to establish public confidence in times of wide-spread financial depres- 
sion than anything else. Such a course has the Farmers and Merchants' 
Bank of Cincinnati followed under the a])le management of its officers, 
one of whom is Mr. Leseney, the popular and well known cashier. For 
some tim^ he has been one of the most prominent and active business 
men of this place, and his efforts have been of benefit to the city, while 
they have also promoted his individual prosperity. 

A nati\e of Ohio, Mr. Leseney was born in Aliami county, near the 
town of Fletcher, on the 14th of February, 1858, his parents being Jon- 
athan and Jane (Garbry) Leseney. who were also natives of ]\Iiami 
county. The paternal grandfather, William Leseney. was born in Penn- 
sylvania and spent the greater part of his life in Ohio. John Garbry, 
the maternal grandfather, was also a resident of the Buckeye state 
throughout the greater portion of his life. The parents of our subject 
were married in Miami county and to them were born five children, one 
of whom died in childhood. Those still lix'ing are William L., a resi- 
dent of Oklahoma: Frances E.. the wife of N. A. Robertson, of Promise 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 507 

City, Iowa; James V., of tliis review: and Justice M., who is a railroad 
passenger conductor of Xew Mexico, running on tlie Santa Fe road. In 
i86j tlie father 1)roughl the famil_\- to Iowa, settling upon a farm near 
Cincinnati, where he carried on agricultural pursuits for ahout a decade. 
In 1872 he took up his ahode in the town and for ten years was proprie- 
tor of the Cincinnati hotel. In 1882 he turned his attention to mer- 
chandising, conducting a general store in connection with his son James. 
This was sold out in 1893 and in that year the Farmers and Merchants' 
Bank was organized by Mr. Leseney, his son and N. A. Robertson, the 
bank being opened for business on the 3d of January, 1894. The father 
was connected with this institution until his death, which occurred De- 
cember 18, 1900, when he was nearly seventy-five years of age, and since 
that time his widow has held his interest in the bank. Mr. Leseney was 
a staunch Republican in politics, and in ante-bellum days was an AIkjII- 
tionist. He held membership in the Christian church, was an untiring 
worker in its behalf and was one of the organizers of the church of that 
denomination in Cincinnati. His life was permeated with his Christian 
faith and in his relations with his fellow men he largely exemplified the 
precept known as the golden rule. His widow still survives him and is 
now living in Cincinnati, at about the age of seventy-five years, her birth 
having occurred on the 3d of January, 1828. She, too, is a member of 
the Christian cliurch and a most estimable lady. 

Under the parental roof James V. Lesene}- was reared. He at- 
tended the schools of Cincinnati and from an early age has been an ac- 
tive factor in the business life of this locality. His parents removed to 
the town when he was fourteen years of age, and he was twenty-four 
years of age when he Iiecame a partner of his father in the establishment 
and conduct of a general mercantile store, which thev successfullv car- 



508 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

ried on for eleven years. In 1893, however, they sold out in order to 
give their attention to the banking business. In that year they were 
joined by X. A. Robertson in the establishment of the Farmers and Mer- 
chants' Bank, which now enjoys an enviable reputation as one of the lead- 
ing institutions in this part of Appanoose county. From the organiza- 
tion Mr. Robertson has served as president and Mr. Leseney as its cash- 
ier. Since its organization the bank has enjoyed a constantly increasing 
patronage. It has always followed a safe, conservative policy, which 
has commended it to the support of the public, and its officers and stock- 
holders are men of well known reliability and unquestioned business 
honor. 

In 1884 occurred the marriage of Mr. Leseney and Miss Adda 
Armstrong, a daughter of J. H. B. Armstrong, who was formerly a resi- 
dent of Cincinnati, Iowa, but is now deceased. The}- ha\e one son, 
Chester A., who, with their niece, Myrtle O. Mallum, constitutes the 
household. Fraternally he is connected with the Knights of Pythias 
and in his political views is a Republican. Mr. Leseney is recognized 
as a very wide-awake, progressive business man, whose life seems to 
typify the enterprising spirit that has ever dominated the Mississippi 
valley and has led to its wonderful development. His success has been 
the result of honest, persistent purpose and effort in the line of honorable 
dealing and manly principles. His aims have always been to attain the 
best and he has carried forward to successful completion whatever he 
has undertaken. His life has been marked by a steady growth, and now 
he is in the possession of a comfortable competence, and more than all 
has that contentment that comes from the conscience of having lived to 
a good purpose. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 509 

JAMES S. nOAGLAND. 

This gentleman was Ijorn near Campbellsville, Kentucky, the son 
of John and Nancy (Ship) Hoaghmd. The former was also a native 
of Kentucky and a farmer and hreeder of fine horses. His wife was a 
native Kentuckian. In 1S37 they moved to Indiana and settled eighteen 
miles south of Indianapolis in Johnson county, where they remained till 
their deaths, he passing away in 1889 at the age of eighty-eight, and his 
wife was also eighty-eight years old at the time of her death. Their 
children were Malinda Jane, deceased ; James S. ; Eliza Ann ; John, 
Isaac, deceased: Marian: Jeptha, deceased; Isabel, deceased: Lizzie, 
deceased; George; and Nancy. The sons, with the exception of James 
S., are living in Johnson county, Indiana, and Marian and Nancy also 
live there, while Eliza .\nn is a resident of Iowa. 

James S. Hoagland remained in Kentucky until he was fourteen 
years old, where he received a common school education. After going 
to Indiana he attended Franklin College, where he was graduated in 
T846 and was then chosen assistant surveyor on the Miami reserve 
having taken a civil engineering course in college. He was next resi- 
dent engineer on the Franklin and Martinsville Railroad, and in 1855 
was connected with the management of the construction of the line from 
Jeffersonville to Indianapolis, and also sketched the topography of the 
Peru and Indianapolis line. 

On November 23, 1848, Mr. Hoagland was luarried to Miss Mary 
Ann Woods, of Morgautown, Indiana, the daughter of William and 
Elizabeth Woods, natives of Tennessee. On account of his wife's ill 
health he moved to Iowa and settled on a quarter-section of land which 
he had entered in 1848 in Monroe county. On this he began the rais- , 
ing of live stock and general farming, and he also acquired land in 



510 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

Wayne township. He has made several moves since coming to the 
county, but now resides on his farm in Cedar township, where lie held 
the office of supervisor for twelve years shortly after c(5ming here, and 
was also a justice of the peace. He was nominated three times for the 
legislature, but refused till the last time, when he was elected, and 
served during the session of 1884. 

His wife died December 31, 1887, and was buried at Eden Chapel 
cemetery. Her children were Elvirely R. ; Fremont, deceased ; Hernon ; 
Jerome, deceased; John, deceased: Peter; Marius ; Laura, deceased; 
and Mary Ann. Mr. Hoagland was an ardent Democrat till the forma- 
tion of the Greenback party, when he joined its ranks, and it was nu that 
ticket that he was elected a member of the twentieth assembly, which 
was the first session held in the new cajjitol building. He is a member 
of the United Brethren church, as was his wife, and her brother, the 
Rev. Woods, is a prominent minister in the Methodist church, being a 
presiding elder, with his residence at Indianapolis, Indiana. 

HENRY J. HAMMOND. 

This gentleman was born in Muskingum county, Ohio, near Zanes- 
ville, February 6, 1833, the son of Jacob and Elizabeth Hammond. 
Grandfather Hammond came to Ohio at an early day ; he was a farmer, 
a Republican in politics and a Methodist, and his death occurred in 
Marion county, Ohio. His son Jacob was a native of Pennsylvania, and 
he and his wife came to Iowa in 1834, where he died in February, 1882, 
at the age of seventy-two, and his wife died in 1876. Their children 
were: Henry J., Daniel W., GreenvilleC, who died in the army of ill- 
ness; Butler, deceased; James, Emeline, Catheryn, Nancy Hattie, and 
Elizabeth, deceased. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 511 

Henry J. Hammond remained in Oliio till he was twenty-one years 
old, where he received a fair education and also became accjuainted with 
farming, which was the principal occupation of his life. In 1862 he en- 
listed for the war at Knoxville, Iowa, and served through the struggle 
in Company A, Thirty-third Iowa Volunteer Infantry. He was mus- 
tered out at New Orleans and discharged at Davenport, Iowa, and is 
now a pensioner. 

In i860 Mr. Hammond was married to Mary M. Copeland, the 
daughter of James and Jane Copeland, the former from Kentucky and 
the latter of Indiana. The children of this union were Samuel B., Joseph 
F., John C, Elizabeth, deceased, Josephine C, Clayton, Clarke, de- 
ceased, and Mary Emeline, deceased. Mrs. Hammond died in April, 
1882, tmd is buried in Marion county; she was a member of the Metho- 
dist church. Mr. Hammond is a Republican, has been a Mason since 
1862 and is a member of the Methodist church. His son, Joseph F., 
assists him in carrying on the home place. 



WELLINGTON SPENCER. 

This citizen of Monroe county, Iowa, was born in Morgan county, 
Ohio, May 15, 1848, the son of David and Angeline Spencer, lx)th na- 
tives of Ohio. The father was a farmer all his life and lived in Ohio 
till his death, which occurred July 28, 1888; ten years later his wife 
came to Iowa, and now makes her home with her son Wellington and at 
McConnelsville. There were twelve children in the family: Welling- 
ton, Levi D., Anna N., Corwin H., the first vice president of the St. 
Louis exposition; Hamilton. Arthur C. and Albert, twins; Jenny, Bush- 
rod, Alonzo, Rhoda C, and Mrs. Florence Donnelly. 



512 BIOGRAPHICAL A?^D GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

Wellington Spencer passed his boyhood days in Ohio, where he re- 
ceived a good education, and then taught school for a time. He took 
up the carpenter's trade and also followed farming. He came to Iowa 
in 1870, and first settled in Cedar township; he has lived on his present 
farm for nine years. He was married in Morgan county, Ohio, in 1869, 
to Amanda Hammond, the daughter of James and Sarah Hammond, 
the father a native of Ohio and the mother from England. Their three 
children are Robert, Edward and Minter Day, the first and the last be- 
ing married and having homes of their own, while Edward remains on 
the home place. Robert is the superintendent of the Albia public 
schools. Mr. Spencer is a Republican and has held various township 
offices. When the Civil war broke out he was so patriotic as to offer 
his services, but they were rejected owing to his youth. He and his 
wife and children are members of the Methodist church. 



MELVLN KNAPP. 

While the vast commercial enterprises of this country are the 
wonder of the foreign world and place the United States in the front 
rank of nations, it should ever be kq:)t in mind that the basis of this 
prosperity and commercial dominion is necessarily in the great agricul- 
tural interests; in the corn and wheat belt of the United States lies the 
destiny of the world, and all other interests, large and small, rise or fall 
with the size of the corn and wheat crops. With these facts in mind, 
it is eminently fitting that in the foremost agricultural district of the 
great state of Iowa prominent mention should be given the farmer and 
citizen Melvin Knapp. 

Elihu and Polly (Hays) Knapp were the parents of this gentle- 




MELYiH KHAPP. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 515 

man ; the former was a native of the state of New York, born February 
12, 1800, and died in February. 1883; the latter was born in the state 
of Virginia, and died February i, 1846. They were married in Frank- 
hn county, Ohio, and took up their residence in Madison county, that 
state, in the home previously established by Mr. Knapp, near .-\mity. 
There Elihu operated a tannery, and made harness and shoes. Of 
the three children in the family our subject alone survives. 

The birth of Melvin occurred in Madison county, Ohio, on July 
7, 1834; he remained at home until he was twenty-two j'ears old and 
when not in school spent his time in the tannerv and in farm labor. In 
the spring of 1856 he went to the great west, expecting to locate in 
Kansas, which was at that time the hotbed for all the civil strife which 
was so soon to break forth on the whole country. He concluded to 
avoid that and instead removed to Iowa, locating in .Appanoose county 
in April. A little later he was married and after spending the first 
year of his married life in Ohio he settled in Independence township, 
Appanoose county, where he remained for two years. He then located 
in Bellair, coming to Numa after the close of the war. His 
plans were interrupted by the outbreak of the Civil war; he enlisted in 
the Thirty-si.xth Iowa Infantry and for three years saw active service in 
the field, all (jf that time being spent west of the Mississippi river, e.x- 
cept at the time of the siege of Vicksburg. He returned and purchased 
his present farm in 1865, and has since been actively engaged in farm- 
ing; he is now the owner of two hundred and sixty acres of fertile and 
well tilled land, which he devotes to general crops. 

In December, 1856, Mr. Knapp married Miss Lucretia McGuire; 
they became the parents of three children, two of whom are now liv- 
ing: Ella Hugh, residing in Pleasant township; and Caroline, who is 



516 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

at liome. Mr. and Mrs. Knapp are members of tlie Christian church 
and are well thought of in the society of the community ; he is a mem- 
ber of the Centerville post of the Grand Army of the Republic and has 
been a Mason since 1863. 



ALLEN A. MASON. 

The subject of this sketch was born in Chautauqua county, New 
York, April 14, 1834, the son of Norman and Sarah Ann (Allen) Ma- 
son, the latter a descendant of Ethan Allen, of historic fame. His 
father was a native of New York and his mother a native of Vermont, 
and they were married in Washington county. New York, in 1830. Af- 
ter marriage they lived in western New York, but came west to Iowa 
in 1863 and settled in .Mbia, where for a time he conducted a restaurant 
and boarding house. To this union these children were born : Eliza- 
beth, deceased; Allen A.; Darwin N., a minister; William Gussie, de- 
ceased; Mary; Charles, deceased ; Katie; Lillian, deceased; and Jessie, 
deceased. Father of these children died in 1892, but his wife is living 
with her son in New Bedford, Massachusetts. 

Allen A. Mason spent his early days in western New* York until 
twenty-two years of age. He taught school in Ohio, Pennsylvania and 
New York. He was married in October, i860, to Miss Margaret Boyle, 
daughter of William and Esther Boyle, pioneers of Iowa. The four 
children by this union were: Charles N., Fred D., Jolni H., and Ben 
A. His wife died in the spring of 1874. and is buried in Albia. He 
was married in the fall of 1875 to Martha E. Taylor, daughter of John 
M. Taylor. Six children ha\"e been Ijorn by his second wife: \\'alter 
M., Ralph T., Elsie, Roy E., Edna E., Carlis. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 517 

^^■hen Mr. ^lason first came to Iowa he followed the carpenter's 
trade. He served as deputy clerk for two years, and in 1858 and 1859 
he was deputy treasurer and recorder. In 1861 lie was elected county 
judge on the Republican ticket. Since 1864 he has been engaged in 
running a nursery and in farming. He has one hundred and twenty 
acres on the home place, having sold oi^' th'^ee hundred acres in 1901. 
He was in the dairy business in Albia from 1876 until 1887, and had the 
onlv milk wagon at that time in the citv. 



S. M. KING, M. D. 

Dr. S. i\I. King was born in Portage county, Ohio, September 2j, 
1836, on a farm, and when two years old his parents moved to Illinois. 
His parents were Joel E. and Emeline (Barnes) King, both natives of 
Massachusetts. The father's parents were Robert and Bridget (Mor- 
gan) King, natives of Massachusetts, and great-grandfather Robert 
King was a native of Ireland and died in Berkshire county, Massachu- 
setts, in 1802, aged sixty-two years. His wife was also a native of 
Ireland, and he married in Ireland and they had eleven children. He 
was a practicing physician. His son. Dr. Robert King, was also a prac- 
ticing physician and participated in the war of 18 12, as a captain of 
the Massachusetts militia. He removed from Massachusetts to Portage 
county, Ohio, in 1826, and lived and died there. He had twelve chil- 
dren, of whom was Joel Elislia King, our subject's father, born in 1813 
and died in 1890 in Fairfield, Iowa. His wife is living in Mount Pleas- 
ant, Iowa; she was born December 24, 1813. 

They had eight children, si.x now living. He, too, was a physician 
and in 1861 enlisted in Company E, Twentieth Illinois Volunteer In- 



518 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

fantry, and was detailed to the hospital service. In 1862 he was dis- 
charged on account of physical disability. He moved to Fairfield, Iowa, 
in 1865 and practiced there up to his death. He was a Republican and 
a Methodist. \Mien he went to Illinois from Ohio it was to preach, but 
he gave up the ministry for medicine. 

Sylvester Morgan King was the eldest of the children and he was 
reared in Illinois. On April 19, 1861, he enlisted in Company E, Twen- 
tieth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, as a private, and was at Fredericks- 
burg, Fort Donelson and Shiloh, being severely wounded at the last 
battle. On October 12, 1862. he was discharged and August 15, 1864, 
re-enlisted from Akron, Ohio, in Company I, Sixth Ohio Volunteer 
Cavalry, and served in all the engagements, including Hatcher's Run, 
Five Forks. Dinwiddle. Sailor's Creek, Farmville, and on to Appomat- 
tox under Sheridan. He was discharged May 30. 1865, at the close of 
the war, and then came to Iowa. He soon went to Cleveland, Ohio, and 
there- attended the Cleveland Homeopathic College, in 1866, and then 
came to Iowa and located at Eddyville. where he remained till 1870, 
when he came to Albia. He has been in active practice ever since. In 
1878 he graduated from the Hahnemann Hospital College at Chicago. 
He is a member of the Iowa Homeopathic Medical Society and the 
American Institute of Homeopathy. He is also a member of the Grand 
Army of the Republic, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is a 
thirty-second degree Mason, of the Scottish Rite, is a Knight of Pythias, 
a Modern Woodman, and belongs to the .\ncient Order of United Work- 
men. He was married in 1866 to Louisa M. ChafYee. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 510 

JOHN REES PRICE. 

John Rees Price, attorney at law, was born at Rhoudda Valley, 
South Wales. June 23. 1874. the son of Isaac and Ann (Davis) Price. 
His parents are natives of Wales and trace their genealogy back for 
many generations in W'ales to the time of William the Conqueror. In 
1880 the parents canie to America, stopping in Rapids City, Illinois, in 
the spring of 1880, and in the fall of the same year came to Monroe 
county, Iowa, and settled three miles west of Albia. at what was known 
then as Cedar Mines. Here the father engaged in mining and farming, 
having from early life been engaged in those occupations in Wales. 
From 1886 to i88g the family was in the territory of Washington, but 
then returned to Monroe count}', where the parents have since resided. 
For several years past the father's occupation has been farming; he re- 
sides in Guilford township and is meeting with fair success. 

These parents had seven children. John Rees Price being the third 
oldest. Flis youth was spent in coal mining, and he was educated in 
the country schools, and then spent four years in Central University at 
Pella, Iowa. He taught school several years in Monroe and Marion 
counties and in May, 1898, began the study of law in Albia, under John 
T. Clarkson. He was admitted to the bar on examination before the 
supreme court in Ma}'. 1900. and since then has practiced in Albia. He 
was in partnership with Thomas Hickenlooper up to the time the latter 
was f|ualified as clerk of district courts. He was then alone till March, 
1902, when he fornied a ])artnership with Judge J. C. Mitchell, of Ot- 
tumwa, the latter holding an office at Ottumwa, his resident town. At 
the same time J. H. Tomlinson, of Eldon, became an associate partner, 
the firm being Mitchell, Tomlinson & Price, a strong and successful 
combination. The firm conducts a general law practice, abstract and 



520 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

loan business. Mr. Price is a Republican and belongs to tbe Indepen- 
dent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. He was mar- 
ried in 1899 to Miss Mary Welch. 



J. C. ROBESON. 

J. C. Robeson was born near Plamilton, Ohio, January 6, 1834, the 
son of Elihu and Mary I. (Cummins) Robeson, both natives of Butler 
county, Ohio. The paternal grandfather, William, was born at Rock- 
bridge, Virginia, and moved to Pennsylvania, and thence to Ohio. 
Robeson is a Scotch-Irish name. The Cummins family are of Scotch 
extraction. The parents of our subject moved from Ohio in 1854 to 
Des Moines county, Iowa, where the father died in 1864. The mother 
afterward died in Monroe county, Iowa. The father was a farmer, a 
Whig in politics and he and his wife were United Presbyterians. They 
had seven children. 

J. C. Robeson is the oldest in the family. He was reared on a farm 
and received a common school education. He came west with his par- 
ents in 1854. On November 16, 1861. he enlisted in Company K, Four- 
teenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and served three years. He is now a 
member of the Grand Army of the Republic. He came to Monroe 
county in 1869 and settled four miles north of Albia and farmed up to 
1900, when he removed to Albia. He is now president of the Albia 
Telephone Company. 

A Republican in politics, he was elected representative in the fall 
of 1887, and served one term. He has been twice married ; first in i860 
to Miss Maria McChesney, who died in February, 1861, leaving one 
child, John E., of IMonroe county, a farmer. In 1870 he married Mrs. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 521 

Margaret Elder, and they had three children. He and his wife are 
members of the United Presbyterian church. 

N. E. KENDALL. 

N. E. Kendall, an attorney at law, was born in Lucas county, Iowa, 
near Russell, on ]\Iarch 7, 1868, the son of Elijah L. and Lucinda (Stev- 
ens) Kendall. The father was born in Shelby county, Indiana, and the 
mother in Hendricks county, Indiana. ^Vhen Elijah Kendall was in 
boyhood his parents came to Iowa and settled in Lucas county, where 
they lived and died. Grandfather Abbott G. Kendall was a native of 
Highland county, Ohio, and was a son of Aaron M. Kendall, of Irish 
descent. The father of our subject was a farmer and was a member of 
Company C, Eighteenth Iowa Infantry, and served four years as a 
private in the Civil war. He died in 1896, aged seventy years, and his 
wife died when our subject was a boy. 

N. E. Kendall was reared on a farm and given a common school ed- 
ucation. He was fifteen years old when he left the farm to take up the 
battle of life for himself. He went to Chariton, Iowa, and entered the 
law office of Stuart Brothers, as a stenographer and law student. He 
later came to Albia and entered the law office of T. B. Perry, in the same 
relation, and was admitted to the bar May 15, 1889, since which time 
he has practiced in Albia. He is a Republican and was city attorney 
for Albia for two terms and county attorney for two terms ; also a mem- 
ber of the Republican state committee for three terms, being secretary 
one term, and vice chairman two terms. He was elected a member of 
the Twenty-eighth and Twenty-ninth general assemblies of Iowa. 

In 1896 he was married to Miss Belle Wooden, of Centerville. 



522 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

Mr. Kendall is a Master Mason, a Knight of Pythias, a memher of the 
Modern Woodmen of America, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, 
the Brotherhood of American Yeomen, and the l)ene\nlent and Protec- 
tive Order of Elks. 

EDGAR M. NOBLE. 

Mr. Noble was born in the town of Albia, Iowa, April 25, 1854, the 
son of David A. and Elizabeth Ann (Arnold) Noble. His father was 
born in Pennsyhania and his mother in Indiana. The}- were married 
in All)ia in 1853, the father having" come to Albia in 1851, and the 
mother in 185 J. The_\' had three children. The elder Mr. Nolile mer- 
chandised in Alljia thirty or more years and died in 1895, aged sixty- 
fi\-e, bnt his wife still resides in Albia. aged sixt)'-eight. The father was 
a Republican and was county treasurer two terms. He and his wife 
were members of the Christian church. He was a successful business 
man as a general merchant. He had a fair common school education. 
The last several years of his life were spent retired. 

Edgar M. Noble was reared and educated in Albia and spent one 
year at Christian College at Oskaloosa. In early life he entered the 
store of his father and was in mercantile lines up to 1895. since when 
he has been in the real estate and insurance business. Pie was married 
in 1878 to Miss .\nna Miller. He is a Republican and the nominee of 
his party for auditor of the count}'. He and his wife are Methodists, 
and he is a Knight Templar ISIason and belongs to the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 523 

LEVITICUS TILTOX RICHMOND. 

Leviticus Tilton Ricliniond, cashier of the First National Bank and 
Fanners" and Miners' Savings Bank of Albia, Iowa, was born on a farm 
in Cedar township. Monroe county, Iowa, June ii, 1861, the son of 
Samuel and Sarah A. (Bell) Richmond, both sides being Irish stock. 
His father was lx)rn in Trimble county, Kentucky, November 22, 1822, 
and was reared in Kentucky, where he was married, his wife being a 
native of Kentucky. From this state they removed to Indiana, where 
they resided near Bedford for a few years and in the fall of 1844 came 
to Burlington. Iowa, and the next year went to Davis county, Iowa, and 
in the spring of 1846 came to Monroe county and settled in Cedar town- 
ship, where the father still resides, but the mother died in February, 
1897. He has been a farmer and miller, being a millwright by trade. 

Leviticus Tilton Richmond was reared on a farm and was the 
eighth of a family of ten children, one son and a daughter being younger 
than he; there is only one daughter in the family. His early education 
was obtained in country schools, afterward at Central University at 
Pella, Iowa, being there from 1877 to 1880. In 1880 he taught in the 
academy at Knoxville for six terms. He had previously taught and by 
attending school and teaching alternately had educated himself. His 
first teaching was in the public schools of Monroe county, and his first 
term was taught in 1878, when just past eighteai. In March, 1882, he 
began reading law under the late W. .\. Nichole. of Albia ; was admitted 
to the bar in May. 1883. He at once began the practice of law in Albia. 

Mr. Richmond is a Democrat and as such was appointed deputy 
sheriff in 1884. He was elected sherifY in 1885 for a short term and in 
1886 was re-elected and held office till January i, 1888, when he re- 
sumed the practice of law. I-'or five months he served as mayor of Albia, 



524 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

being appointed by the council, of which body he was a member ; he was 
a conncihnan for four years. For four years he was a member of the 
board of trustees for the huhistrial School for the Blind at Knoxville, 
Iowa, through appointment by the general assembly. He practiced law 
up to January, 1899, when he was made cashier of the First National 
Bank and in October, 1901, wiien the Farmers' and Miners' Savings 
Bank was organized, he l)ecame its cashier. 

He was married November 18, 1885, to Lizzie W. Malone, a native 
of Maryland, and a daughter of James and Mary (Coughlin) Malone. 
natives of Ireland, and who came to ]\Ionroe county in 1870, and died 
here. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Richmond are: Francis H., 'Wil- 
liam T., and Thomas B. The family are members of the Roman Catho- 
lic church. 



JOSEPH HARVEY ROBERTSON. 

"Men of progress" is a phrase that aptly applies to many Americans 
in this twentieth century of industrial advancement, and in these three 
words is often summed up the highest compliment that can be paid to 
these soldiers of this commercial age when the world's battles are no 
longer fought b_\- the sword. And among those who may very justly 
be considered in this class is the gentleman whose name heads this 
sketch, a worthy, prosperous and leading citizen of Appanoose county, 
Iowa. While he has devoted his life to hard work and has intently fol- 
lowed the business of his choice, he has also found time to give to the 
public interests of his community and is a worthy exponent of American 
citizenship in its highest and best sense. 

Moses Robertson was his father; he was born in Kentuckv on 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 525 

Octo!)er 21, 181 1, aiul died in Appano<ise county on November 29, 1R93. 
His wife. Jane Streepy, was a native of Knox county, Indiana, where 
she was born August 15, 1826, and she died on November 9, 1862. 
Moses Robertson went to Knox county, Indiana, when he was ten years 
of age, and there spent tlie days of his youtli. ol)tained liis education in 
tlie countr_\- schools and married tlie lady of his choice. In 1852 they 
came west and located on the same farm which is now the property 
of the subject of this sketch. Besides conducting the farm they opened 
a general store on the place and continued this for a number of years. 
In 1891 he left the farm and spent the reiuainder of his life in Cin- 
cinnati, Iowa. 

Joseph Harvey claims Appanoose county as the place of his birth, 
and his birthday was January 8, 1858. He attended the country schoiil 
up to his sixteenth year, and then learned the blacksmith trade, whicl: 
he never followed, however. Prior to 1901 he had been engaged ex- 
tensively in the stock business and has been considered one of the lead- 
ing farmers of the count)-. He has now somewhat relaxed the vigorous 
toil of his younger years and is enjoying the fruits of his well spent life. 
He has always shown an active interest in the political affairs of the 
county and is one of the local leaders of the Republican party. He is a 
member of Prosperity Lodge No. 504, F. & A. M. 

Mr. Robertson was married in 1878 to Miss Emma Stevenson, 
and they became the parents of three children: Ava, born May 31, 
1879; Ora, born June 9, 1881 ; and Joe, born June 11, 1891. Emma 
Stevenson was the daughter of P. J. and Mary (Gunder) Stevenson, 
and was born in Darke county, Ohio, November 30, 1857. Her parents 
came tn Appanoose county in 1868, in which county they now reside. 



526 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

GEORGE W. STREEPY. 

It is now our privilege to record briefly the life history of a man 
whO' has served his country as a soldier in defense of the Union, and in 
the peaceful pursuits of an agricultural life has gained as great victories 
as on the battlefield and is now able to look back on a life of well spent 
activity. His father was Edward Streepy, who was born in Pennsyl- 
vania in 1801 and died in 1895, aged ninety-four years; his mother was 
a native of Davis county, Indiana; was born in 1806 and died in 1847; 
her maiden name was Delilah Freeland and she was married in Davis 
county. Edward Streepy was brought to Washington county, Indiana, 
when he was thirteen years old; by occupation he was a farmer and 
followed this calling all his life. After the death of his wife he re- 
mained in Davis county until 1850 and then went to what is known as 
the North River Bottom in Indiana, where he carried on his farming 
operations for four years; in 1854 he sold out and came to Iowa, lo- 
cating near Unionville in Appanoose county, where he spent the re- 
mainder of his days. 

George W. Streepy, the son of the above parents, came into the 
world in Davis county, Indiana, February 6, 1833, and spent the days 
of his youth nnich after the manner of all boys who are reared under the 
invigorating influences of the farm. In 1850 he settled in Davis county, 
Iowa, but remained there only one year and then came to Appanoose 
county, where he has since made his home. When the lurid glow of 
civil strife lit up the land his spirit was aroused to defense of the Union 
and in 1863 he enlisted in Company I, Thirty-sixth Iowa Infantry; on 
account of an injury to his left leg he served most of the time in the 
commissary department. With the exception of this period spent in the 
service of his country and three years which he devoted to mercantile 




GEORGE W. STREEPY. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 529 

pursuits at Ictmium, Mr. Streepy has eugaged in tilling the soil all his 
life, and he has met with most encouraging success. He has three hun- 
dred and fifty-fi\e acres all in r>ne body on his place; a fine and valuable 
farm. 

In 1856 Mr. Streepy was married to Lucy Elizabeth Dean and three 
children were born: Dedetta A., who is now Mrs. Edward White; 
and the two deceased are Alice and Baxter. Mrs. Streepy died in 1862. 
In 1866 he was again married, his second wife being Mary Reprogle, 
who died August 2y, 1875 ; she left one child, Mrs. Mary E. Harvey, of 
Centerville. For his third wife Mr. Streepy chose, on March 16, 1876, 
Miss Margaret J. Cafferty, who is now living and is the mother of three 
children : C. E. Streepy, Zelma E. Streepy and George W. Streqiy, 
Jr. Mr. Streepy recalls the days of the Civil war by his membership 
with the Grand Army of the Republic. He casts his vote for the Re- 
publican party, and in the public afifairs of the county has been a mem- 
ber of the county board of supervisors for one term and has filled num- 
erous township offices. He has been one of the prominent members of 
the Methodist church and a few years ago donated the ground, directly 
across the road from his home west of Cincinnati, upon which has been 
erected a substantial house of worship ; the only condition affixed to this 
gift was that the church should be of no particular denomination, but 
open to all services held in the cause of religion. In this, as in many 
other ways, Mr. Streepy has shown his excellent common sense and his 
desire for general progress in the community. He may be truly desig- 
nated as a man of character, one whose every act is in accord with his 
inmost principles of right and justice. 



530 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

J. N. VAN PELT. 

The constantly increasing number of fanners who, after a life of 
well spent activity, are retiring and passing their remaining days in 
the enjoyment of their competences is an indication that this most 
worthy class of industrial workers is now meeting with the rewards 
which they so richly deserve, for surely the tiller of the soil, above 
all other men, should be able to lay by enough in his working years to 
give him the comforts of life without labor in old age. One of the 
retired farmers of Monroe county, Iowa, is J. N. Vanpelt, who is 
now making his home in Melrose and has been one oi the leading agri- 
culturists of this section. 

His parents were \\'illiam and Angeline (Nadenbnsh) Vanpelt, 
the fiirnier a native of Washington county, Virginia, and the latter 
born in Franklin county, Ohio. William Vanpelt lived in his native 
state until sixteen years of age, and then went to Ohio and located in 
Franklin county, where he was married. He later came to Monroe 
county and purchased a farm of eighty acres ; he was also a carpenter 
by trade and followed this occupation as long as he was able to do 
active work. His first wife died at the birth of the subject of this 
sketch, and he was again married, his second wife l)ecoming the mother 
of twelve children. 

The birth of J. N. Vanpelt occurred in I'ranklin county, Ohio, 
October 18, 1835, and after spending his boyhood in Ohio he came, at 
the age of sixteen, to Monroe county and was then engaged as a farm 
laborer until the outbreak of the Civil war. His fighting blood was 
kindleil, and on the patriotic day of the Fourth of July, 1862, he en- 
listed in Company D, Twenty-second Iowa Volunteer Infantry, being 
mustered in at Iowa City. He was first sent to Raleigh, Missouri, 



■BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 531 

under Colonel Stone, and his regiment participated in twenty-five en- 
gagements throughout the war, among them the siege of Vicksburg; 
Jackson, Mississippi ; Baton Rouge ; Champion Hills ; Winchester, 
Virginiai: in this last named battle Mr. Vanpelt was wounded by the 
explosion of the last shell fired by the Confederates in the engagement, 
and one part of the shell took off a thumb and another lodged in his 
hip, which fragment he still has in his possession. After lying in the 
hospital for several months he recovered from his wounds and was 
mustered out at Davenport, Iowa, February 3, 1865, having spent three 
and a half years in the service of his country. He easily went back to 
the peaceful pursuit of farming again and continued tO' live on his farm 
until 1899, when he retired and moved to Melrose, where he now lives 
in a comfortable home. 

Mr. Vanpelt was married December 17, 1868, to Amanda Cobb, 
who is a native of Missouri and the daughter of Joseph Cobb, a pioneer 
settler of Marion county, Iowa ; she left the state of her birth when five 
years old and went with her parents to Marion county and later to 
Monroe county, where she remained till her marriage. Eight children 
were born, six sons and two daughters: William A., Tula, Scott, 
Julia, Lee, W^die, Lewis and Sherman. Mr. Vanpelt is a stanch Re- 
publican and keeps up his connection with old army comrades by his 
membership in the Grand Army of the Republic. He and his wife 
are members of the Methodist church. 

RALPH M. DAVIS. 
Ralph M. Davis, a cigar manufacturer, is acceptably filling the 
office of mayor of Moulton, and is one of the wide-awake and enter- 
prising men of the city, who exemplifies in his life the progressive spirit 



532 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

which has led to the rapid upbuilding of the west. He is also con- 
nected with the commercial interests of the town, having been formerly 
a member of the Davis Brothers Manufacturing Company, but he now 
conducts the business alone and in his own name. He set at naught 
the old adage that "a prophet is never without honor save in his own 
countiy," for Mr. Davis is a native son of the town in which he has been 
honored with the offices within the gift of the people. He was born 
in Moulton on the 23d of April, 1874, and is a son of Levi and Martha 
(Willett) Davis and a grandson of Richard Webb Davis, who was 
born in Delaware in 1805, but was reared in Maryland. In 1833 
Richard Webb Davis was married to /Vhnira Landfier, a native of 
Dayton, Ohio, and a short time afterward they moved to Lewistown, 
Fulton county, Illinois. He was a stonecutter by trade, having per- 
formed much work of that kind, and he also followed farming. In 
1839 they removed to Adair county, Missouri, where they spent one 
winter, and then took up their abode in Schuyler county, but in 1842 
came to Appanoose county, Iowa. In 1846 he moved to Bloomfield, 
Davis county. His wife died in Bloomfield in 1862 at the age of fifty- 
two years. They became the parents of thirteen children, namely : 
Adriel B., who was born September 2, 1835; Levi, who was born 
February 23, 1837 ; Mary, Lucy, Nancy, James Price and Sarah Jane, 
twins, who died at birth; Julia, Webb and two who died in infancy. 

Levi Davis, the second of the above enumerated children, was 
born in Illinois, February 23, 1837, and shortly afterward, in 1840, 
was taken by his parents to Schuyler county, Missouri. Subsequently 
they took up their abode in Bloomfield, Davis county, Iowa, and in 
1857 moved to Orleans, now a deserted village north of Moulton, and 
there Mr. Davis met and married Miss Martha J. Willett, their wed- 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 533 

ding being celebrated April 14, 1858. To this union were born eight 
children, as follows: Fannie B., Homer E., Eva L., James A., Fer- 
nando C, Willie W., Ralph M., Ray L., all of whom are living with 
the exception of Eva L., who died in March, 1871. The family came 
to Moulton in 1869, and for many years the father was the express 
agent at this place, and when it was first incorporated he was elected 
the town marshal. He was a citizen of prominence, and for fifteen 
years was honored with the office of chief executive, also acting as a 
justice of the peace. He had an excellent knowledge of the law and 
often met learned counsel at the bar, when he often floored his oppO' 
nents. He was a stalwart Democrat in his political views, was an active 
and consistent member of the Christian church, and filled an important 
niche in the pioneer days of the locality and will long be remembered 
as one of the landmarks of Moulton. After nearly a month's illness 
his death occurred on the i6th of December, 1902, leaving an aged 
wife, who is still living in this city, and seven children. 

Ralph M. Davis spent his boyhood days in bis parents' home and 
at the usual age was sent to school, acquiring a good English educa- 
tion. After leaving school he went upon the road as a traveling musi- 
cian, and for ten years was thus employed, visiting various parts of 
the country. In the year 1896 he returned to Moulton and entered 
into partnership with bis brotlier, I'lay L., a practical cigarmaker, under 
the firm name of Davis Brothers Cigar Manufacturing Company, this 
relationship being continuetl until our subject purchased his brother's 
interest, Januar\' 26, 1903. The business has steadily grown, and he 
now manufactures a number of brands of cigars which have become 
favorites on the market. The enterprise was established on a small 



534 BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

scale, but has steadily increased, until the business now pays an excel- 
lent annual dividend. 

In 1898 Mr. Davis was united in marriage to Miss Ella M. Clink- 
enbeard. of Moulton, and the young couple enjoy the hospitality of 
many of the best homes of the city, their circle of friends being exten- 
sive. Mr. Davis is a member of the American Bene\-olent Association, 
the Iowa State Traveling ]Men"s Association, the ^Modern \\'oodmen of 
America, the Masonic fraternity, and in addition to being a Master 
Mason is connected with the order of Eastern Star. In politics he has 
always been a Democrat, and in the spring of 1902 was elected upon 
that ticket to the position of mayor of the city, in which position he is 
now acceptably serving. He has already manifested deep regard for 
the public welfare, and his efforts in behalf of the general good have 
been effective. 



CHARLES M. MARSHALL. 

Charles ^1. Marshall, the postmaster of Moulton, Iowa, is a mem- 
ber of a large family of men noted for their public spirit and enterprise, 
and his excellent career as a business man and as the incumbent of the 
most important public office of his city makes him specially deserving 
of a place in this volume. His parents are William and Arminda 
(Hayes) Marshall, the former a native of Kentucky, and the latter of 
Ohio. They were married in Ohio and in 1872 came west, first locating 
in Missouri, where for a time he ran a hotel in Coatsville. In 1873 he 
removed to Iowa, since which time they resided in Moulton. For 
many years he was in the real estate business, and for twenty-one 
years was assessor of his township. His long and l)lameless career 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GEXEALOGICAL HISTORY. 535 

was ended in death on December 17, 1902. He was a Republican and 
in religion a Methixlist. William Marshall was married three times, 
and our subject is the son of his third wife. There are five living chil- 
dren of the first marriage, one of the second and four of the third. 
Those living are as follows : W. J. Marshall is a prominent banker 
of Sardinia, Ohio, the original home of the family; Mrs. Dr. W. W. 
Glemi, of Hillsboro, Ohio; Judge H. L. Marshall, of Eufaula, Indian 
Territory; Robert L. Marshall, of Cincinnati, Ohio, an employe of the 
Big Four Railroad; James O. Marshall, also in the railroad business; 
W. L. Marshall, a farmer in Indian Territory; our subject; Guy Mar- 
shall, in the employ of the rural free delivery service at Moulton ; Cam. 
G. Alarshall, assistant postmaster of Moulton; and Booze Marshall, at 
home in Moulton. 

Charles M. Marshall claims Brown county, Ohio, as his nati\-e 
home, having been born there February 5, 1864. He has spent most of 
his life in Moulton, where he was reared to manhood and given a 
common school training. After reaching manhood he entered the 
clothing house of W'ooldridge & Pulliam at Moulton and continued in 
their employ for eleven years. In 1898 he was appointed postmaster 
of Moulton and took charge of the office on the anniversary of his 
birthday of that year. Four years later he received a reappointment 
and is still filling this position. That Mr. Marshall has been faithful 
and progressive in the performance of the duties of this of^ce is sub- 
stantiated by the fact that under his administration three rural free 
delivery routes have Ijeen established, and that the salar}- of the office, 
which depends upon the receipts, has been raised from twelve hundred 
dollars to fifteen hundred dollars a year, and through his efYorts the 
office is now located in a new brick building, heated with steam and 



536 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

provided with conveniences such as few towns the size of Moulton have. 
Mr. Marshall is a thorough believer in the principles of the Re- 
publican party. Fraternally he is a Knight Templar Mason and a 
Knight of Pythias. He is active in church work and is chorister in 
the Methodist church. In 1885 he was united in marriage to Miss 
Jennie D. Gale, of Moulton. and they have two bright children, Olive 
and Lucile. The family occupy a prominent place in the society of the 
town and are held in high esteem by a large circle of friends and ac- 
quaintances. 

SAMUEL RICHMOND. 

More than a half century has passed since Samuel Richmond 
arrived in Monroe county, and his residence in the state dates from 
1845. Most of this time he has carried on farming and is to-day the 
owner and occupant of a good farm in Cedar township. He was born 
in Morgan county, Kentucky, on the 20tli of November, 1822, a son 
of John and Alice Richmond, the former a native of Virginia, while 
the latter was born in Tennessee. John Richmond carried on general 
farming and also made a specialty of the raising of tobacco. In his 
early life he devoted his energies to the advancement of the interests 
of the Whig party, and when the Republican party sprang into exist- 
ence he joined its ranks and continued to give to it his support until he 
departed this life. He died in 1882 and his wife passed away five years 
later. To their marriage were born six children: Lizzie; Samuel; 
William, who is deceased ; Silas ; and Henry and David, twins. From 
the time when he located upon the farm where our subject was born 
until his death the father resided continuously in that place, and was a 
well known resident of his portion of Kentucky. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GEXEALOGICAL HISTORY. 537 

When Samuel Richmond left his birthplace in the Bluegrass state 
he went to Indiana, where he remained for three years, and during that 
time he was engaged in farming and in working in a mill. In 1845, 
however, he left Indiana and came to Iowa, settling first in Bur- 
lington, where he remained through one winter. In 1846 he took 
up his abode in Wapello county, where he continued until the following 
September, when he removed to Monroe county, with which section of 
the state he has since Ijeen identified, covering almost fifty-seven years. 
He has made his home throughout this period in Cedar township, 
where he now owns four hundred and eight acres of land, constituting 
one of the good farms of the locality, well tilled fields surrounding sub- 
stantial barns, and a comfortable frame residence. 

In March. 1842. in Johnson county. Indiana. Mr. Richmond was 
united in marriage to Miss Sarah Bell, of that county, a daughter of 
Isaac and Elizabeth Bell. Mrs. Frances Cooper, a sister of !Mrs. Rich- 
mond, is the only surviving member of the Bell family, and she now re- 
sides upon the Richmond farm. Ten children were born to our subject 
and his estimable wife: Byron, now deceased; William Perry; James 
H.. who has also passed away: Crates C, John, Frank D., Columbus, 
Tilt. Jane, and Major S. 

In 1897 Mr. Richmond was called upon to mourn the loss of his 
wife, who passed away in that year at the age of seventy-three. As man 
and wife they had traveled life's journey for fifty-five years, sharing 
with each other the joys and sorrows, the adversity and prosperity 
which come to checker the careers of all. Mrs. Richmond was a mem- 
ber of the Baptist church and Mr. Richmond belongs to the Methodist 
church. He is an earnest, consistent Christian man, who has ever en- 
deavored to live at peace with his fellow men and to treat them hon- 



538 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

orably and fairly in all business transactions, and therefore in the 
evening of life he is honored and respected, receiving the veneration 
which should ever be accorded to those of advanced years. As he looks 
back along the vista of the past there are many incidents in his career 
in the county of which he has reason to be proud. He walked twelve 
miles to the election to vote for the adoption of the state constitution, 
and helped to organize Cedar township. He never missed an election up 
to date; helped build the first cabin, the first school and church in the 
township, and has done his part in making rails, building fence, breaking 
prairie, killing rattlesnakes and wolves ; and now he is ready to pay his 
last tax and with it go home with no one left behind but his friends to 
mourn. 

GEORGE T. PULLIAM. 

The most that can be attempted in a brief sketch of this kind is a 
recital of the main facts of the outward life of a man, and from these 
details posterity must judge the character of him who lived and wrought 
in the past ; but surely it does not always require the seer to scan the 
history of the indi\"idual to judge his fitness for the higher rewards 
of the world, for the book of man's life lies open and there the deeds 
done here show the fruit of his best endeavors. And while the career 
of the prominent citizen of Moulton, Iowa, whose name heads this 
article, may be summed up in a few lines, there is evidence therein of 
hard, conscientious, well directed efYort, ever lifting the life of today a 
step above that of the yesterday. 

The father and mother of George T. Pulliam were James and 
Charity (Hindi) Pulliam, both natives of Kentucky; they were taken 
to Illinois in youth and there they grew up and married. In 1853 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 539 

they came to Iowa and first settled near Eddyville; the next year they 
removed to Davis county, and in 1S56 moved to Orleans, Appanoose 
county. He was a farmer, a merchant and a stock dealer, and was one 
of the pioneers of the village of Orleans. He was a pioneer Republican, 
joining that political organization at its inception ; in religion he and 
his family were members of the Christian church. He died in 1868 at 
the age of fifty years. In 1858, while living in Orleans, his first wife 
died, aged thirty-six \ears. having borne him six children. The oldest 
son, William H.. served in the Twenty-first Missouri Infantry and later 
in the Eighth Iowa Cavalry ; iluring the siege of Atlanta he received a 
wound and from its effects died August i, 1864. 

The birth of George T. Pulliam occurred in Pike county, Illinois, 
November i, 1849. His l.ioyhood w'as spent on the farm and he was 
given a common school education. At the age of twenty he was thrown 
upon his own resources and soon started upon his career as a merchant 
in Moulton; he was one of the successful retailers of that town for more 
than twenty-five years, but in 1898 he retired; his principal line was 
clothing. For twenty years J. V. \Vooldridge was his partner, first 
under the name Wooldridge, Pulliam & Deupree, and then Wooldridge 
& Pulliam, and later Geo. F. Pulliam. 

In 1885 Mr. Pulliam was married to Miss Ollie M. Gates, who was 
at the time a very popular and successful teacher in the Moulton schools. 
In politics he is Republican; is a memlier of the Knights of Pythias, and 
a great friend of the jniblic schools, of which they are so justly proud. 
His success is due to his own efforts, and he is justly ranked as one of 
the leading business men of Moulton and Appanoose county. 



5-40 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORV. 

JOHN C. PHILLIPS. 

One of the largest land owners and most extensive agricnltnrists 
in .Vppanoose connty is John C. Phillips. His father was Theophilus 
Phillips, whose wife was Mahalia Ann Moore; they were both natives of 
Adams county, Ohio, and were married in that county. ]\Ir. Phillips 
was throughout his life a tiller of the soil, and his life laljors were ended 
in death in 1879, when at the age of sixt_\--four years. Mrs. Phillips 
died in 1853, aged thirty-nine years. Mr. Phillips came west in 1863 
and after residing in Appanoose county for two years returned to Ohio; 
in 1871 he spent one year in Missouri and later removed to Appanoose 
county, where he passed the remaining days of his useful life. This 
worthy couple were the parents of ten children, of whom six are now 
living. 

One of these children was John C, who was born in Adams county, 
Ohio, January 5. 1841, and was reared to a farmer's life, spending 
his youth in work on the farm and in attendance at the country schools. 
He had arrived at manhood when the Civil war spread its blight over 
the land and in 1862 he enlisted in Company F, Ninety-first Ohio Vol- 
unteer Infantry, and gave three years of faithful service to his country, 
.•\t the battle at Bufifalo Gap he recei\-ed a wound which compelled 
him to spend some time in the army hospital. Shortly after his return 
from the army, in 1868, Mr. Phillips followed the example of his father 
and came to Cooper county, Missouri, where he engaged in farming 
for a few years. In the spring of 1872 he moved to Wayne county, 
Iowa, and continued farming for twelve years. His residence in Ap- 
panoose county dates from 1884, and here he has met with most gratify- 
ing success in farming and stock-raising. For ten years his stock opera- 
tions were conducted on a large scale in partnership with Mr. B. Bowen, 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 541 

of Centerville. That he possessed much business abiUty was shown in 
his being chosen to act as cashier of the Farmers' and Drovers' Bank of 
Seymour, Init after a }ear lie resigned, preferring the free and interest- 
ing Hfe of the farm. At the present time Mr. Philhps owns on his home 
place fourteen hundred and eighty acres of fine land, which is one of 
the most extensive farms in the state. 

In 1862 Mr. Phillips was married to Miss Clementine Drake. Her 
parents were James H. and Caroline (Marshal) Drake, who were resi- 
dents of Licking county. Ohio, coming to Iowa in 1878, where the 
father died in 1900 in his ninetieth vear, and the mother passed away 
in 1893, aged seventy-seven; the wife of Mr. Phillips was born in 
Licking county, Ohio, November 27, 1843. Thirteen children were 
born and all but one are now living: Oiarles E., Emma A. Stewart, 
James P., Hosea M., Joseph Walter, Carrie A. Richardson, B. Bowen, 
Kennedy Kendall, Herbert H.. John J., Oscar Orville, and Roscoe C. : 
the last three li\e at home with their parents. Mr. Phillips retains his 
connection with his old armv comrades in the Grand Army of the Re- 
public at Seymour, and he has membership in the Methodist church 
at Genoa. It is through such men as Mr. Phillips that the solid and 
noble calling of agriculture as been brought to its high state of per- 
fection, which in no other country of the world has been so highlv de- 
veloped and attracts such a high class of men. 

D. C. KENWORTHY. 

The subject of this sketch is a man who has been prominent in 
many of the affairs of life, has fought on the battlefields of the south 
in defense of the Union, has been a leading farmer of the county for 



542 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

nearly half a centur}- and has taken an active part in pnblic, social and 
religions matters of the conimnnity. His grandfather was Elisha Ken- 
worthy and was a native of Penns)'l\'ania ; he and his wife Sarah both 
died in Indiana. Thomas Kenworthy, the father of D. C. Kenworthy, 
was born in Ohio, where he was reared on a farm. In 1844 he went to 
Miami connty, Indiana, and until 1853 ran a grist and saw mill. Then 
coming to Monroe county, Iowa, he bought a farm near where the sub- 
ject of this sketch now lives; selling this place a few years later he re- 
moved to Ringgold county, but soon S(jld the farm he had acquired there 
to the Burlington railroad, and then went to Oregon, where he died at 
the age of eighty-five. He was a successful medical practitioner in Iowa 
for a number of years and was a man of sterling traits of character. 
He lived during the heat of the slavery strife and was an uncompromis- 
ing abolitionist Republican and was an acti\'e supporter of John C. Fre- 
mont in the first campaign of that party ; he was also a friend of Colonel 
Jim Lane of Kansas. He was a Methodist in religion. He was mar- 
ried in Montgomery count}-. Indiana, to Sarah Beesley, a native of 
Pennsylvania ; she was the mother of twelve children : Sirena, Irnada, 
Delitha, Louisa, Mary, Saphrona, Martha, David C, and four others. 
Tliomas Kenworthy's second wife was Minerva Jackson, by whom he 
had seven children ; she died in Oregon. 

Da\id C. Kenworthy was born at Crawfordsville, Montgomery 
county, Indiana, July 13, 1839, and was fourteen )-ears old when he 
came to Monroe county, in November, 1853, and here he was reared 
and completed his education in the cnmmon schools. \Mien he was 
twenty-two years old he enlisted, in Jul_\-, 1861, in Company H. First 
Iowa Volunteer Cavalry, under Colonel F. Warren and Captain D. 
Anderson. He saw much acti\'e service in the campaign in Missouri, 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 543 

Arkansas and Mississippi: lie was in tiie engagements with General 
Price's army, also Ouantrell's raitlers and Bill Anderson's troopers. 
He was in the battle at Jackson, Missom'i; Little Rock, Arkansas; Cam- 
den, Missouri; and he started to assist General Banks in the Red River 
expedition, but his regiment failed to reach liim in time; they then went 
on a forced march ui) the Saline river to meet General Price and after 
crossing on pontoon bridges engaged in a hard fight which lasted all 
day; he took part in the battle of the Poison Springs on the Little Mis- 
souri and then recei\c(l a \eteran's furlough for thirty days. He was 
stationed at Mexico and St. Joseph, Missouri, and fought l)usliwhackers 
all over the state; he was sent to Jefferson City to support the Union 
forces against Price and received his final discharge in November, 
1865, returning home with a most en\iable war record. 

While on his veteran's furlough Mr. Kenworthy was married. 
May 29, 1864, to Alice Harris, who was born in Delaware county, Ohio, 
in 1845, being the daughter of R. B. Harris, a native of New York, anil 
of Mary Bains, a nati\e of \\'ales. Morris Bains, the father of the 
latter, is now one hundred years old and was born in Wales, where he 
married Alice Jones; in 1835 they came to Delaware county, Ohio, and 
in 1856 came to ]\h:jnroe count}- ; they had two children, Edward, de- 
ceased, and Jklrs. Harris; Mr. Bains has eight great-great-grandchil- 
dren, thirty-six great-grandchildren, and eighteen grandchildren, and he 
is known and respected as (me of the patriarchs of the county. R. B. 
Harris and wife had fourteen children: William, who was a soldier 
in the Civil war in the Pirst Iowa Cavalry and died while in the service; 
Alice, who became Mrs. Kenworthy; Zilia, deceased; Morris; Albert; 
Edward, deceased; Clinton, deceased; Emily McGinnis, li\ing in this 
countv; Ahir\-; Losinia. the wife of the Rew William I'otter. of the 



54i BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

Methodist church at Ainsworth, Iowa,: Hattie; and tliree others. The 
father of these children passed away at tlie age of eighty and the mother 
at the age of seventy-seven, the former heing a memljer of the Republi- 
can party, and both devoted meinbers of the Methodist church. Mr. 
and Mrs. Kenworthy are the parents of five children : Florence, the 
wife of Henry Payne, of Albia; Mattie R. Barnhill, of Franklin town- 
ship, a former teacher of the county ; Arthur, who married Myra Searcy, 
of this county; Hattie, of Albia; and Maud Richardson, residing in this 
county. 

Mr. Kenworthy lives on a three hundred acre farm, known as the 
old George Town farm. He takes an active interest in the success of 
the Republican party and is a member of the central committee of the 
township, of which he has been chairman for years ; he is a leading 
member of the post of the Grand Army of the Republic at Albia; and he 
has been steward of the Methodist church for many years and one of 
its most liberal supporters. Throughout his long residence in the county 
he has proved himself a man of no mean ability, and is held in high re- 
gard. 

LUTHER CPHSMAN. 

Luther Chisman is a self-made man, whose industry and energy in 
his chosen life work have made him one of the well-to-do agriculturists 
of his connnunity. His birth occurred in Dearborn county, Lidiana, 
October 21, 1851, and he comes of an old Pennsylvania family of Ger- 
man descent. His paternal grandfather, John Chisman, was a native 
of the Keystone state, but became a resident of Iowa, and both he and 
his wife died in Wapello count)- and were laid to rest in a cemetery 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 5i5 

near their home. Tlieir son, Etlward Chisman, was born in IncUana 
and spent tlie days of his youth upon a farm in Dearborn county. Wlien 
lie liad reached man"s estate he desired a companion and liclpmeet f(jr 
the journey of Hfe and married Miss Keturah Clark, who was born in 
Ohio, and belonged to a prominent family of that state of English an- 
cestry, but was reared in Indiana. In 1855 they left their home in 
Dearborn county and witli their family came to Iowa, settling in Polk 
township, Wapello county, near the Monroe county line, he having here 
purchased a tract of go\-ernment land in 1850. It was then raw prairie, 
on which not a furrow had been turned or an improvement made, but 
with characteristic energy he began to plow the fields and in course 
of time made his tract a valuable farm property. In the family were 
the following children: .Amanda, the wife of Pete Burjeson, of Blakes- 
burg, Iowa; .\nna, the wife of x\lec Tubaugh, of this township; Luther; 
Laura, who became the wife of H. D. Lane and died in Wapello 
county; Trumlnill ; antl Josephine, deceased. The father died upon the 
homestead farm in 1861, at the age of forty-one years. He was a 
Democrat in his political views and served as justice of the peace and 
as a member of the school board. He held membership in the Baptist 
church, to which his widow also belongs. She still resides upon the 
farm and on the 13th of November, 1902, she attained her eighty-first 
year. 

Luther Chisman spent his early boyhood days with his parents, 
but at the age of fourteen years started out to earn his own living. 
Previous to this time he had been a student in a district school, in which 
tliere were seventy-five students and two teachers in a room twenty-two 
by twenty-four feet. It was known as the Liberty school, and to that 
institution he is indebted for all the mental training he received inside a 



546 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

schoolroom. Mr. Chisman was married on tlie 5tli of Fe1)ruary, 1874, 
to Miss Tennie Burjeson, a native of Sweden, in wliich country slie was 
educated. Her parents were Jacob and Lena Burjeson, and the latter 
died during tiie infancy of Tennie. The father, howe\er, came to 
America and for six years was a resident of Iowa. 

Mr. Chisman's first purchase of land comprised eighty acres in 
Cedar township, Monroe county, and was bought with money acquired 
through his own labor at farm work. After four years he sold this 
property and removed to Kansas, where he remained for four years and 
then returned to Iowa, settling on a rented farm in Ringgold county, 
near Kelierton. In 1888 he purchased a farm of William Wilcox in 
Mantua township, Monroe county, comprising one hundred and sixty 
acres of land, and has since resided on this property, which constitutes 
one of the best farms in the locality because of its many excellent im- 
provements, its good grades of stock and highly cultivated fields. There 
are blue-grass pastures, verdant meadows and grain fields which give 
promise of rich barxests, and the farm is well fenced and ever^-thing is 
in good condition. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Qiisman have been born six children: James, 
who is twenty-f(jur years of age and assists in the cultivation of the 
home farm; Ina, the wife of Charles Springer, a prominent farmer of 
this township; Retta, who is a student in the high school of Albia; 
Alta, who is eleven years of age; Edward, who died at the age of twenty- 
one years; he was a young man loved by all for his good qualities and 
his loss was deeply felt throughout the community; and Sarah, who died 
at the age of two and a half years, in the state of Kansas. Mr. Chis- 
man's study of political questions has led him to endorse the principles 
of the Democratic party, and he has frequcntl)- been a delegate to its 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 647 

county conventions. He is regarded as one of the substantial citizens 
of the community, being found on the side of progress and improve- 
ment in all matters pertaining tO' the general gooil, and in matters of 
business his straightforward and reliable dealing is one of his strong 
characteristics and has led to his success. 

RUFUS E. CUMMINS. 

Peter Cummins, the great-great-grandfather of the subject of this 
sketch, was an officer in the English army and a citizen of Vincennes, 
Indiana, in 1783. The act of congress, March 3, 1791 (Vol. I, page 
221, U. S. Statutes), granted four hundred acres of land to each person 
who in the year 1783 was the head of a family at Vincennes or in the 
Illinois country on the Mississippi, according to the act, April 30, 18 10 
(II Vol., Statutes. 590). The claim was confirmed by act, February 
13, 1813, Vol. II, General Statutes, page 800, reported in 7th Vol. 
American state papers, pages 704, 722 and 723. 

Ephraim Cummins, the son of Peter, was born at Vincennes, in 
1770; was a farmer; moved to Iowa in 1851, and died in Wapello county, 
in 1862. He was the possessor of the following patents, recorded thus: 
Certificate No. 140, Vol. i, page 140; signed by James Monroe. Cer- 
tificate No. 1360, Vol. 5, page 429; signed by James Monroe. Certifi- 
cate No. 2628, Vol. 9, page 370; signed by J. Q. Adams. Certificate 
No. 3537, Vol. 8, page 2y ; signed by Andrew Jackson. 

His son Daniel was born in Spencer county, Indiana, in 1803; was 
a farmer; moved to Appanoose county, Iowa, in 185 1 ; in the spring of 
1863 moved to Santa .\na, California, where he lived for twelve vears, 



548 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

then moved to \\'ashington. He reared a family of twenty-two children 
and died in 1886. 

Ephraim Cummins, the son of Daniel, was born in Spencer county, 
Indiana. February 26, 1832. At the age of sixteen he moved to Wapello 
county, Iowa, with his uncle, Ephraim Cummins, and after one year 
moved to Moravia, Appanoose county, Iowa. 

On ]\Iarch 4, 1852, he married Maria Theressa Stauber. who was 
born December 8. 1833, and died June 12, 1874. She was a daughter 
of Joseph Stauber, who laid out the town of Moravia and named it in 
honor of the Moravian church, of which he was a member. To them 
were born eight children, five of whom are now living : Josephine C, 
Eunice E., Frank B., Rufus E., William R., Theresa, Grant and Laura. 
Ephraim Cummins afterwards married Anna R. Stauber, who was born 
January 21, 1850. Two children were born: Blaine and Mabel. He 
was engaged in tlie mercantile business before the war, closing the busi- 
ness to enter the army. On his discharge he again engaged in the same 
business and in connection he was postmaster and held the office until 
Cleveland's election. He was a charter member of Antiquity Lodge No. 
252, A. F. and A. M., and was rated as one of the successful and leading 
citizens of the county. Politically Captain E. Cummins was a Republi- 
can and extended his influence in the- formation of that party in Ap- 
panoose county, Iowa. He voted for John C. Fremont for president in 
1856, and for Abraham Lincoln in i860, and every Republican candi- 
date for president thereafter until his death. He was as true as steel 
to his friends, and ne\er quailed l)efore an enem_\' on the field of battle. 
He was an indulgent father and treated his children with great kind- 
ness, yet was firm with them, all of whom grew up to be useful men and 
women, loval to the couiitrv and flag. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 549 

The Eighth Iowa Cavah'y was commanded b)- Colonel J. B. Dorr, 
and Captain E. Cummins, who enhsted June 24, 1863, organized Com- 
pany F. They were mustered in at Camp Roberts, Davenport, Iowa, 
August I, 1863, and remained there until October, 1863, when the com- 
pany went to Louisville, Kentucky, where they received arms and out- 
fits, and marched to Nashville, Tennessee. Mr. Cummins was em- 
ployed in hunting down and capturing \'arious bands of cut-throats that 
infested the state at that time. In March, 1864, the company marched 
to Cleveland, Tennessee, and was made a part of the magnificent army of 
General Sherman on May 3, 1864. The first fight was at Varnell, 
Georgia, May 9, 1864. He was with Sherman at the capture of 
Atlanta, and marched to the sea. Captain Cummins was in the various 
battles and skirmishes that his regiment was engaged in on that cam- 
paign up to the battle of Cassville, where he was badly wounded while 
leading a charge at the head of his company, and was compelled to leave 
his regiment, but as soon as he was able he returned and served under 
General Thomas against Hood. At the close of the war he was hon- 
orably discharged. Captain Cummins was noted for his great bravery 
and coolness in battle ; was a great favorite with the soldiers of his regi- 
ment, and no officer was held in higher esteem than lie by the soldiers 
of his own company. 

(This war record was written by Corporal William D. Kinser and 
Sergeant Robert K. Johnson.) 

Captain E. Cummins died August 6, 1891. 

Rufus E. Cummins, tiie son of Ephraim and ]\Iaria T. (Stauber) 
Cummins, was born in the village of Moravia, Iowa, .\ugust 24, i860, 
and passed his youth and gained his early educational training in this 
place. His first business experience was obtained in his father's store, 



550 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

but after his marriage he settled on a farm in Taylor township, Ap- 
panoose county, and continued in this occupation until 1897. in which 
year he was appointed postmaster of Mora\-ia : he still fills this office 
and gives entire satisfaction. Like his father, he is a Republican in 
politics, and is a member of Antiquity Lodge No. 252, A. F. & A. M., 
and also a member of Monroe Chapter Xo. 125, R. A. M. In 1884 he 
was married to Miss Jennie Long and they have one child, Beulah. Mr. 
Cummins is much esteemed for his excellent personal qualities as well 
as his strict business integrity. 



HERMAN SXOW. 

The Forest Glen stock farm, comprising six hundred and forty 
acres, is the home of Herman Snow, one of the popular and prominent 
citizens of Monroe county. His farm is located in Urbana township, 
not far from the Blakesburg postoffice, and approaches very nearly 
to the ideal stock farm. Upon the place are three houses, his own 
residence being a very attractive one, surrounded by a well kept lawn, 
and in the rear stand good barns and sheds for the shelter of grain 
and stock. The latest improved machinery is used in the cultivation 
of the fields, which annually return rich harvests, and there are good 
pasture lands, furnishing feed for the stfjck in summer, while the exten- 
sive meadows give a hay supply for the winter feeding. The stock 
raised is of high grades, and the owner has reason for just pride in 
his valuable farm, for Forest Glen is one of the finest stock farms in 
this part of the state. 

Mr. Snow has resided in Monroe county since 1866. He was 
born in Knox county, Illinois, near Galesburg, March 21, 1852, and 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 553 

comes of a prominent family, the name figuring many times upon the 
pages of history. His father, Lucius Snow, was born in Portage county, 
Ohio, and was a son of Oii\er Snow, a native of Massacliusetts, and a 
descendant of an old New England family of genuine Puritan stock 
that was established in America by English emigrants who landed on 
the famous Plymouth Rock. Oliver Snow married Rozetta L. Petti- 
bone, a native of Coiuiecticut, and his last days were spent in Illinois. 
For a short time he was a believer in and follower of Joseph Smith, 
the noted Mormon leader, but later renounced that belief. Both he 
and his wife were laid to rest at Walnut Grove, now .\ltona, Illinois, 
their graves being marked by two large trees, planted there by their 
son Lucius. Lucius Snow was one of seven children. Lorenzo Snow, 
the fifth in age, became an elder and the leader of the Mormon church 
at Salt Lake City for a number of years, but is now deceased. Eliza 
R. Snow won a wide reputation as a poet and author. Lucius was the 
sixth of the family. Mrs. Lenora Leavitt died at Salt Lake. Samuel 
P. Snow is a well known author and writer of California. Percy 
Amanda died in Illinois, aged forty, and Melissa died in Portage county, 
Ohio, aged twenty-five. 

Reared in Ohio, Lucius Snow afterward lived in Illinois for a 
number of years and was married in Kno.x county, that state, to Miss 
Eliza Walker, a native of New York, and a daughter of Joseph Walker, 
who was born in England. In 1854 Mr. and Mrs. Snow removed from 
Illinois to St. Paul and later to Red Wing, Minnesota. He became one 
of the pioneers of the locality and was an active factor in the work of 
development there and was prominent in public affairs, filling a number 
of positions of trust and responsibility. In 1866 he removed from 
Minnesota to Monroe county, Iowa, locating in Urbana townshi]>, where 



55-i BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

he died at the age of seventy-nine years, honored and respected by all 
who knew him. He had always carried on farming and stock raising 
and was regarded as authority upon bees and bee culture. His widow 
is now living in Blakesburg, Iowa. They had five children : Herman ; 
Ida Dorothy, of Wapello county; Anson A., a prominent business man 
and also postmaster of Bracewell, Decatur county, Iowa, and a well 
known writer upon free thought; lantha, the wife of W. E. Bracewell, 
who is one of the most extensive sorghum manufacturers of the United 
States and a leading farmer of Decatur county, Iowa; and Sidney C, 
prominent in connection with the telephone business in Urbana town- 
ship, Monroe county. 

Herman Snow was reared in Illinois and upon the frontier of 
Minnesota, and acquired a good education in the schools of the latter 
state and in the Kirksville (Missouri) Normal College. For twelve 
years he was successfully engaged in teaching, but now devotes his 
entire time and attention to the supervision of his farming and his 
telephone interests. He owns an entire section of land in Monroe 
county, from which he annually secures good crops, while his stock 
sales also amount to a good figure each year. 

On the 14th of October, 1879, Mr. Snow was united in marriage 
to Miss Kate Trussell, whose father, Andrew Trussell, was one of the 
prominent and wealthy farmers of Monroe count3^ He came to Iowa 
during its territorial days, settling in Wapello county in 1842, and 
afterward removing to Monroe county. He became a very prosperous 
farmer, owning hundreds of acres of land and carrying on stock deal- 
ing on an extensive scale. He also became one of the organizers of 
the First National Bank of Albia and one of its directors. He mar- 
ried Martha Williamson, of Iroquois county, Illinois, and to them were 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 555 

born fi\e cliildren : Mrs. Sarah A. De Haven, nf Urbana township, 
Monroe connt_\- ; Mrs. Martlia J. Derby, of \\'ai)ello county; Samuel 
H., of Ewing', Holt county. Nebraska, a prominent cattleman: W. H., 
a well known banker of Moravia, and Mrs. Snow. The father gave 
his political endorsement to Republican principles and was one of the 
substantial citizens of Monroe county. His birth occurred in Pennsyl- 
vania in 1814 and he died at the age of seventy-six years, while his 
wife passed away at the age of seventy-eight. She was a member of 
the Methodist Episcopal church. Mrs. Snow, their daughter, was 
reared and educated in this county and presides with gracious hospi- 
tality o\er her beautiful home, which is characterized by culture and 
refinement. In the family are four children: Norlan, who is with the 
First National Bank at Albia : Zatha. who is a fine musician: I*". 
Ralph, and Herbert A. 

For three years Mr. Snow served as a member of the county board 
of supervisors and gave his aid and influence to all measures which he 
regarded as beneficial to the community. He votes w^ith the Republican 
party and has frecjuently been a delegate to its county and state con- 
ventions, having' served in the state con\ention when Governor Shaw 
was nominated to head the ticket. He has also been active in advancing 
the school interests of his county in the way of better schoolhouses, 
better wages for teachers, and was instrumental in getting free libraries 
for each school in his own township of Urbana. He is at present a 
director in the First National Bank of Allna and in the Farmers' and 
Miners' Savings Bank of Albia and in the Blakesburg Savings Bank 
of Blakesburg, and also the president of the Blakesburg Telephone and 
Telegraph Company. For twenty-se\-en years he has been a most con- 
sistent and devoted member of the Christian church, has contributed 



556 BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

generously to its support and labored untiringly for the extension of its 
influence, and has long served as Sunday-school superintendent. His 
life has ever been upright and honorable, his actions manly and sincere, 
and he now stands as one of the strong men of the county, strong in 
his success and in his honor and good name. 



■ ISAAC N. TRIMBLE. 

Isaac X. Trimble, who resides on section 31, Mantua township, is 
one of Monroe county's native sons and a representative of one of her 
old and honored families. He was born on the farm where he now 
lives, July 6, 1854, and is a son of Thomas Trimble, who is a prominent 
early settler and successful business man of the township. He was born 
in Kentucky in 18 17 and was reared and educated in that state. Going 
to Indiana, he was there married to Miss Elizabeth Webb, a native 
daughter of the Hoosier state, and a daughter of John Webb, who was a 
soldier of the Revolutionary war and afterward drew a pension. In 
1850 they came to Iowa by team and wagon and were among the first 
to locate in Mantua township, Monroe county, where the father pur- 
chased two hundred and sixty acres of land and developed a farm, mak- 
ing it his home up to the present time. He has been called upon to 
mourn the loss of his wife, who was a most estimable lady and a faithful 
member of the Methodist Episcopal church. She passed away in 1877, 
at the age of forty-five years. Although now eight)'-five years of age, 
Mr. Trimble still enjoys good health, and throughout his active busi- 
ness life successfully carried on general farming and stock-raising. In 
politics he is a pronounced Republican, and has ever taken a commend- 
able interest in public affairs. In his family were ten children, three 



BIOGRAPHICAL AMD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 557 

sons and seven daughters, namely : Alexander, who served for three 
years and four months during the Civil war as a member of the Seven- 
teenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry and is now a resident of Albia, Iowa; 
Nancy W., Jeimie, Isaac N., Eveline, Christina, George, who died at the 
age of fourteen years. Lou, who died at the age of forty-two; and Mrs. 
Lotta Miller and Mrs. Ida Gillett, also deceased. The family is one of 
the most prominent and influential in Mantua township. 

Upon the old homestead Isaac N. Trimble grew to manhood and by 
assisting his father in the work of the farm early became familiar with 
all the duties which fall to the lot of the agriculturist, at the same time 
pursuing his literary studies in an old schoolhouse with bench seats, near 
his home. In February. 1879. he married Miss Clara Belles, a daugh- 
ter of ^\'iIliam and Mar\- J. (Maull) Belles, who were natives of New 
Jersey and Kentuck}-. respectively. Her parents were both members of 
the Methodist Episcopal church and her father was a Republican in 
politics. In early life he learned the tailor's trade, which he followed 
for a time, but subsequently turned his attention to farming. He died 
in 1897, at the age of seventy-eight years, and his wife passed away at 
the age of fifty-two. This worthy couple were the parents of thirteen 
children, of whom eight are still living, namely: Mary Ann; John, who 
was a soldier of the Civil war: Myra: Sarah: Alva and Clarence, twins; 
Oak : and Grant. Of those deceased, Isaac N. was a soldier of the Union 
army during the Rebellion and was killed in battle; Slona. one who died 
in infanc}'. Effie. and Cora A., who died in Wapello county. Iowa. Mr. 
and Mrs. Triml)le have eight children li\'ing: Guv. Pearl. Ruth. Lena, 
Famiy, George, Paul and Ola, while Frank, the third in order of birth, 
died at the age of nineteen years : and Etta, the fourth of the family, 
died at the age of seven years. 



558 BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

Aiter his marriage Mr. Trimble continued to reside upon the old 
homestead with his father, and is today successfully operating three 
hundred and twenty acres of land, which is under a high state of culti- 
vation and well improved. In religious faith the}- are Friends and hold 
membership in the Friends church at Albia. Iowa. People of refinement 
and culture, they make many friends, who are always sure of a hearty 
welcome within their hospitable doors. 



GEORGE C. HAZLE\\OOD. 

This name has long been favorably known in Appanoose county, 
especiallv in the vicinit\- of Iconium. where its owner has resided and 
carried on a prosperous business for many xears. Though bred to 
farming and always engaged more or less directly in agricultural pur- 
suits, Mr. Hazlewood early developed taste and talent for dealing in real 
estate, and has met with remarkable success from his numerous dealings 
in land. In other wavs. also, he has displayed decided business ability, 
and with it all enjoys a reputation for honest dealing and iinancial stabil- 
ity that gives him credit of the highest class. It is safe to say that no 
banker or capitalist who knows him would hesitate to cash at par any 
note bearing the signature or endorsement of George C. Hazlewood. 
His life story in the main is much like that of many other Iowa farmers 
who have descended from early pioneers from the east and have been 
brought up at country homes in the rural nciglil)orhood in this state. 
About the time that Iowa emerged from the territorial condition and was 
admitted to the Union as a state there arrived a worthy couple from 
the east and cast their fortunes w-ith the new commonwealth. Joseph 
G. Hazlewood, who was a native of Virginia, had tarried long enough 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 559 

in Indiana to find a wife in the person of Deborah E. Downing, and 
with her he settled on a farm in Jefferson county. He tilled his land 
there in the usual way for some years, -and in 1857 made a change of 
location to Mercer county, Missouri, where he remained eight years, 
coming thence to Appanoose county, his death here occurring at the age 
of eighty-one years, and his wife died when seventy-one years old. Of 
their eight children seven are living, and among these is included the 
prosperous farmer at Iconium whose operations it is now the intention to 
describe. 

George C. Hazlewood was l)orn on the farm first occupied by his 
father in Jefferson county, near Fairfield, January 9, 1852. He grew up 
and received his education in that vicinity and other localities, but be- 
fore reaching his majority decided to take unto himself a wife. This 
resolve was carried out July i,^, 1871, by his marriage to Melinda E. 
McKern, a girl of Iowa nativit}-, who died in Nebraska a few years sub- 
sequent to her union, at the age of twenty-eight years. She was a 
daughter of John and Celaw (Van Doren) McKern, natives of Indiana 
and the parents of twelve children, of whom five reached mature years 
and there are now living: Jabez and Hannah Graham, residents of 
Moravia; and Mr. Hazlewood's present wife. Dilemma. Of the five 
children born to Mr. and Mrs. Hazlewood, two are living: Bertie C. 
and Rena M., the last named being the wife of Edgar Breese, and they 
have one son, Loyd B. 

During this first union Mr. Hazlewood bought a small tract of land, 
mostly in its raw state, sixty acres. Three years later he tought eighty 
acres more, but in two years he sold the larger tract for a handsome 
profit. In a few years he purchased sixty acres adjoining the first pur- 
chase and as time passed on Mr. Hazlewood sold this farm, consisting of 



560 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

one hundred and twenty acres, after occupying it eight years. \\'ith 
a speculative turn lieretofore noticed Mr. Hazlewood made another pur- 
chase of one hundred and sixty acres. This, too. he sold two years 
later, and purchased one hundred and five acres adjoining the village of 
Iconium. on which he resided for eight years. But during this time, 
owing to the poor health of his wife, Mr. Hazlewood went to Nebraska 
for the benefit of his wife's health, but all in \ain. His wife. Melinda 
E., died in Nebraska September i8, i8Sj, and Mr. Hazlewood returned 
to his farm at Iconium. On the 13th of November, 1883, Mr. Hazle- 
wood contracted a second marriage, with the widow of L. B, Hutton, 
a sister of his first wife. She has one lixing child by her first husband, 
John W., who married Lena Young, and they have a daughter named 
Fern. After his second marriage Mr. Hazlewood took up his residence 
on the one hundred and five acre farm, but he scx^n sold it in small lots, 
with the profit that usually accompanies his real estate transactions. The 
fine farm he owns at the present time was obtained by purchase at dif- 
ferent times, in three tracts, numbering ninet}'-five, fortv and one hun- 
dred and twenty acres, respectively, but he afterwards disposed of the 
largest tract and bought instead eighty acres in Monroe county, adjoin- 
ing the balance of his land. As the result of his \-arious deals Mr. 
Hazlewood now enjoys that hajijiy state which is usuall}' summed up by 
the expressive phrase, "well fi.xed," and few men of his age can make a 
better financial showing with no greater capital to start on. Mr. Hazle- 
wood's farming is of the kind usually descrilied as mixed or general, but 
he has paid some attention to blooded stock, showing a preference for 
hogs of the best grades. He understands the business thoroughly, 
whether on its speculative or practical side, and possesses that valuable 
faculty for all l)usiness men of knowing how to m;d<e things pay. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 561 

Though not without that intelhgent interest in politics that be- 
speaks the good citizen, and keeping an eye on tlie parties in campaign 
times, he cares notliing for office, but lias consented to act as justice of 
the peace and member of tlie school board. He has always affiliated 
with the Republican party and cast his first vote for R. B. Hayes in that 
statesman's memorable contest for the presidency in 1876 against Sarn- 
uel J. Tilden. Though not officially connected with any religious de- 
nomination, he usually attends services at the Christian church with his 
wife, who is a member. 



LEMONT A. PEPPERS. 

This gentleman, who is the proprietor of a p(jpular livery barn that 
goes by his name, though one of the youngest business men of the city, 
is alreadv ranked among the most progressive. He displavs rare tact 
an acumen in business affairs, is resourceful and enterprising as to 
methods and improvements, and gi\-es promise of becoming one of the 
solid citizens from a capitalistic standixjint. His stable is especially 
popular with the young people of the city, who are attracted l)v the 
courtesies and obliging spirit of the proprietor as well as by his well 
groomed stock and neat outfits. 

Mr. Peppers' grandparents were Reuben and Catherine (Blevins) 
Peppers, the former a Kentuckian, who left his native state in boyhood 
and died in Kansas at the age of sixt}-five years. His wife died in 
Miiledgeville, Appanoose county, Iowa, at the age of si.xty-three years, 
after becoming the mother of nine children. Of these five are still liv- 
ing, and among the number is William Peppers of .-Mbia. He was born 
in Ashe count\-, Xorth Carolina, and was reared on a farm, trained to 



562 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

the different kinds of agricultural work, and as he grew up obtained liis 
education in the district schools. He remained at home until eighteen 
years of age. and then went to Jackson county, Missouri, but six months 
later went to Van Buren county, Iowa, where he spent eight months, go- 
ing thence to Ottumwa. Subsequently settling in the northwest part of 
Appanoose county, he built one of the first sawmills ever seen in that 
section, which he operated for some years with moderate success. Later 
he located on a farm in the same township, which he cultivated manv 
years, but finally rented his property and came to Albia. He invested 
in the implement, hardware, harness and vehicle business, and has since 
given all of his attention to this line of trade. 

In Ottumwa, in 1853, Mr. Peppers was united in marriage to 
Martha Jane Houck, who became the mother of seven children : Wil- 
liam H., Francis M., Alary Alice, deceased; Drusilla, Sherman, Florence 
^ and Fred. Mrs. Peppers died in 1874, and in 1875 Mr. Peppers married 
Martina Hiserman. They have become the parents of three children: 
Roy C, Austin W. and Lemont A. 



JOHN W. SHAHAN. 

J. W. Shahan is the proprietor of the fine farm, Harvest Home, in 
Walnut valley, Monroe county, and almost all that he possesses has been 
acquired through his own labor, guided by sound judgment. He is now 
seventy-five years of age, but still manages his business interests and is 
an active, enterprising man, of sound judgment and progressive siprit. 
He has resided in this county since 1853, and is therefore classed among 
the pioneer settlers, for at that time comparatively few homes had been 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. oG3 

establislied in tlie county and tlie work of improvement largely lay in 
the future. 

Mr. Shalian is a nati\e of West Virginia, his birth having occurred 
in Harrison county, February 17, 1828. His paternal grandfather, 
John Shalian. was also a native of West Virginia, of Irish descent, and 
both he and his wife died in that state. Their son, Richard Shahan, 
was born in Preston county. West Virginia, and was reared to farm life, 
following agricultural pursuits throughout his entire business career. 
He married Elizabeth Dakon, also a native of West Virginia and a 
daughter of George Dakon of Harrison county. On the paternal side 
she was of German lineage and on the maternal side of English 
descent. Richard and Elizabeth Shahan became the parents of eight 
children: Elizabeth, Mary Ann, John W., Martha, Charity, Edmond 
D., Sarah J. and Sabra. These eight children were reared to woman- 
hood and manhood without having a doctor called to see any of them. 
The mother was a consistent member of the Baptist church ajid died in 
that faith when forty-five years of age. For his second wife Mr. 
Shahan chose Margaret Williams, and they had five children : Colum- 
bia, Jehu and Elihu, twins, Eppie and Joshua H. The father was also 
a member of the Baptist church, and his political support was given to 
the Democracy. He died at the age of eighty-five years. 

In the state of his nativit)- J. W. Shahan was reared and educated, 
and aside from the lessons learned in the schoolroom his parents in- 
stilled into his mind lessons of industry and integrity. He would often 
study at home at night by the light of a pine torch, for he was desirous 
of improving his knowledge, and after feeding forty head of cattle 
gladly walked the distance of two nules which lay between his home 
and the school in order that he might cnjtj)- the educational advantages 



564 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

there afforded. When nearly twenty-two years of age lie was married 
in Harrison county. West Virginia, to Miss Emeiine Drummond, a 
daughter of Wilford Drummond and Xancy Tharp. botli of wliom He 
buried in Monroe county, Iowa. 

Mr. and Mrs. Shahan began their domestic life in West \'irginia. 
but in 1833 came to Monroe county. Iowa, coming by way of the Ohio 
and Mississippi rivers to Keokuk, Iowa, and thence across the country 
to their destination. Mr. Shahan secured a tract of good land, well 
watered and comprising both timber and valley land. This farm today 
comprises two hundred and eighty-eight acres of rich land on sections 
II and 13, Mantua township, upon which he has erected a fine residence 
at a cost of eighteen hundred dollars. The barn is thirty by fifty feet 
and has a rock basement. There is a fine bearing orchard, beautiful 
groves, pastures of blue grass and meadows of hay in addition to the 
fields adapted to the cultivation of grain. He has a fine herd of thor- 
oughbred English red polled cattle, including some of the best specimens 
of the breed in the state. .Among the number are seven \i)ung bulls. 
Mr. Shahan owns a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Allen 
county, Kansas, where use is made of the natural gas on that place; also 
a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Pleasant township, this 
county, together with other property, having wisely placed his money 
in the safest of all in\estments, real estate. .\s the years have passed 
his possessions have steadily increased as the result of his careful man- 
agement and good business judgment, and he is now one of the men of 
affluence in Monroe county. He gives his political support to men and 
measures irrespective of party ties, and has served as county super- 
visor. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Shahan were born seven children: Mrs. Marv 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 5G5 

E. Bell, of Eddyville, Iowa; Wilford A. L, who is engaged in the real 
estate and claim business in Portland, Oregon; Edmond Lee, who died 
at the age of nine years and twenty-five days; Jackson, who is a drill in- 
spector and expert in core drilling and now in Pennsylvania; John La- 
fayette, of Chicago, Illinois, serving as pattern maker with the Stand- 
ard Oil Company ; Mrs. Jennie Bowman, of Port Angeles, Washington ; 
and George H., at home. The mother of these children passed away, 
but her memory is still enshrined in the hearts of those who knew her 
because she was a good Christian woman, an acti\e member of the 
Qiristian church, a faithful friend and a de\'oted wife and mother. In 
1878 Mr. Shahan was again married, his second union being with Mrs. 
Sarah Elizabeth (Smith) Berry, a native of Johnson county, Illinois, 
and a daughter of D. H. and Emeline (Gosney) Smith, both of whom 
died in Wapello count}', Iowa. By her first marriage Mrs. Shahan had 
three children : Mrs. Mary Canfield, who died in Kansas ; and two 
who are living, Elvin Berry, of South Dakota ; and Clara, wife of 
Arthur Jones, of Washington. By her second marriage, to David 
Swope, Mrs. Shahan had two children : Vienna, the wife of George 
Burkman. of Mantua township; and Ermina, wife of Alonzo Bellman, 
of Chillicothe. Iowa. By his second marriage Mr. Shahan has two 
children: Richard F.. a student in the Iowa City Medical College; and 
Mabel G., at home. Mr. Shahan votes in the main with the Democratic 
party. He has been a delegate to the farmers' congress held at Fort 
Worth, Texas, and is interested in all that pertains to the promotion of 
agricultural interests. He has ser\ed as county supervisor and is an 
elder in the Christian church, of which he has long been a faithful mem- 
ber. Whatever has for its object the betterment of mankind receives his 



5G6 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

endorsement, and he is widely acknowledged as a citizen of worth in his 
adopted county. 



EMERY CHIDESTER. 

There is no more hospitable home in Monroe county than that of 
Mr. and Mrs. Emery Chidester, in Urbana township. The owner is a 
leading agriculturist, a genial man and one who makes friends wherever 
he goes. Moreover he is one of the native sons of the county, his birth 
having occurred on the old family homestead in Mantua township. 
March i6, 1862. His father, Zadoc Chidester, had come to this county 
at an early day, locating here in 1846, the year of the admission of the 
state into the Union. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Susan 
Tharp, was a native of Virginia, and their children were IMorg; Sarah; 
Lee; Hulda; Floyd; Mary; Jenny; Zadoc; Elliott, who is living in 
Tacoma, Washington; Emery; Frank, at home; and Grant, deceased. 
The father of this family passed away in Monroe county at the advanced 
age of eighty-six years, after having lived to see the county emerge from 
its primitive condition and pioneer environments to take its place with 
the leading counties of the commonwealth. 

In field and meadow through the period of his boyhood, Emery 
Chidester worked when not engaged with the duties of the schoolroom, 
and thus he gained practical knowledge of farming methods and was well 
qualified to carry on agricultural pursuits for himself when he had 
reached man's estate. At the age of twenty-one years he married 
Anna Mahon, who was born in county Antrim, Ireland, a daughter of 
David Mahon, who was a second cousin of General McMahon of the 
French armv. He had two uncles who came to the United States and 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 507 

served in the Revolutionary war. David ]\Iahon, having arrived at, 
years of maturity, married Maria Dunn, and in 1863 crossed tlie broad 
Atlantic to America, settling in Urbana township, Monroe county, upon 
a farm. He carried on farming and merchandising throughout his 
remaining days, and died at the age of seventy-four years. After be- 
coming a naturalized American citizen he supported the Republican 
party, and in his religious views was a Unitarian. His widow is still 
living, at the age of seventy-three years, and makes her home with her 
daughter. By her marriage she became the mother of nine children : 
Anna; Dave; Mrs. Jane Bnrk; Mrs. Agftes Peck; Mrs. Isabelle 
Miller; Mrs. Delphine Angel, who is a widow and is engaged in teach- 
ing in Polk county, Iowa ; Mrs. Emma Angel ; Mrs. Lotta Goodwine ; 
and Mary, who died at the age of nine weeks. 

At the time of his marriage Mr. Chidester began farming on his 
own account, and that his years have been years of industry and per- 
severance is shown by the fact that he is now the possessor of a valu- 
able farm of four hundred and twenty-three acres, constituting one of 
the finest farms of Monroe county. Upon it is a splendid home of 
twelve rooms, which was erected at a cost of three thousand dollars. 
Its attractive furnishings give evidence of the cultured taste of the in- 
mates, and the piano shows their love of music. Around the home is a, 
well kept lawn and in the rear are substantial farm buildings for the 
shelter of grain and stock. He buys, feeds and ships cattle and horses, 
and this as well as the production of grain proves a profitable depart- 
ment of his business. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Chidester have been born eight children : Mar- 
cia, Dave F., Ansel Tecumseh, S. Delia, Emma Agnes, Vesta Lucretia, 
Emery Hale, and they also lost an infant son. The parents are sincere 



568 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

members of the Christian church and Mr. Cliidester is a Democrat in his 
pohtical views. Honorable in business relations, loyal in citizenship and 
the champion of all measures tending toward the betterment of man- 
kind, Mr. Chidester is respected throughout the community, and his 
life record illustrates the power of industry and integrity in winning 
success. 



THOMAS WESLEY KILLION. 

The parents of this enterprising Iowa ctlitor were Thomas Jeffer- 
son and Jeanette Ann Killion. The former was a merchant and also 
held the office of justice of the peace for several years. In this latter 
position he made a reputation for his decisions, and throughout his 
section of the country was considered an oracle on all legal and political 
questions. This extensive knowledge was due to his voracious reading 
of all books and papers, and his constant intercourse with men for manv 
years. 

Thomas \\'esley Killion was born to these parents at Orleans. 
Appanoose count}-, Iowa, July 7, i860. The good mental training 
which has at all times been of value to him in his career he obtained 
in the common schools of his vicinity, supplemented with constant read- 
ing of the best books and periodicals. He early manifested considerable 
talent in the line of vocal music, and the only schooling which he was 
privileged to enjoy away from home was the brief time he spent in 
the musical department of the Iowa Wesleyan Universitv at Mount 
Pleasant. He had been reared to the work of the farm, and in connec- 
tion with this ])ursuit at the age of twenty he began teaching music, 
which he carried on during the winter months for the following twelve 




THOMAS W. KILLION. 



BIOGRAPHICAL A.\D GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 571 

years. His versatility has also been shown in his writing of several 
musical compositions, which ha\-e been publishetl. Mr. Killion has 
been connected with the iMonltun Sun in the capacity of editor and 
proprietor for five years. This is one of the leading papers of Appa- 
noose county and was established on March i, 1898. It is a Democratic 
organ, and its motto is "Equal rights to all, special privileges to none" 
— most fitting in this age of trusts and monopolies. 

Mr. Killion's first public ol^ce was that of justice of the peace, to 
which he was elected in Washington township, Appanoose county, in 
1887, and he has been re-elected and has held the office altogether for 
three years. In the fall of 1893 President Cleveland appointed him 
postmaster of Moulton, and he took charge of the office on the first of 
December and held it, with credit to himself, till February 5, 1898. He 
has always been a Democrat of the Jeffersonian school, and from his 
entrance into politics has been a member of the county committee. He 
is now a member of the eighth district Democratic congressional com- 
mittee and is chairman of the Democratic county central committee. 
His Democracy has always been based upon the good old doctrine of 
a tarifT for the purpose of revenue only. 

In 189 1 Mr. Killion became connected with the Knights of 
Pythias; in .April, 1896, he joined the Modern Woodmen of America 
as a charter member, and was elected to the office of worthy adviser 
and has served in some official capacity in Moulton Camp No. 
3799 since its organization, ser\-ing now his third term as venerable 
consul, the presiding ofificer of the order. In March, 1900, he joined 
the Brotherhood of American A'eomen as a member of Moulton Home- 
stead No. 374, and was soon elected to the office of correspondent, 
which he held for three terms; he is now the honorable foreman, or the 



572 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

presiding officer of the homestead. Mr. KilHon has teen identified 
with the work of tlie Christian church since he was eighteen years 
old, and his reHgious views are in conformity with this organization. 
On x\pril 2, 1885, Mr. KilHon was married to Miss Sarah Frances 
Clark. Her father was a Union soldier in the Civil war and "was a 
devout memher and for many years a minister of the Methodist church. 
Carl G. Killion, the first child of this happy union, was born March 6, 
1886; the next in order of birth was Floyd, born March 3, 1888; 
Paul was born June 13, 1893; ^"'1 Pearl was born July 12, 1897, 

WILLIAM BROTHERS. 

Man}- are the natives of the green land of Ireland who have come 
to America and carved for themselves a niche in the great western re- 
public and have found the position and the opportunities for accumulat- 
ing property which would never have been afforded them in the old 
country, and in this number we must reckon one of the old citizens 
of Monroe county, who has been a resident of the county for over half a 
century and well deserves mention among the prominent men of the 
county. 

Michael Brothers, the father of the subject of this sketch, was a 
native of Tipperary county, Ireland, and his wife, Mary Brj'an, was of 
the same county. They lived and died in the land of their birth and be- 
came the parents of seven children, five sons and two daughters : Cath- 
erine, John, Michael, Daniel, Patrick, William and Mary. 

William Brothers was born over three-cpiarters of a century ago, 
about the year 1825, in count}- Tipperary, and spent the early years of his 
life in his native land. When about twenty-six \ears old he emigrated 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GEXEALOGICAL HISTORY. 573 

to America, and coming west to Iowa bought eighty acres of improved 
land in Monroe county. A few }ears later he was married and then 
removed to Keokuk, Iowa, where for about three years he worked at 
blacksmithing, and then came to Monroe county and located on the farm 
where he now li\es. He owns about two hundretl and forty acres of 
land, all under a good state of improvement, and Mr. Brothers has the 
name of being one of the successful farmers of the county. 

In 1857 Mr. Brothers was united in marriage to Miss Catherine 
Conroy. who was born in Queens county, Ireland, and was the daughter 
of James Conroy, who died soon after his arrival at St. Louis, Mis- 
souri: she spent her childhood in Ireland and came to this country with 
her parents. There were eight children born to Mr. and Mrs. Brothers, 
three sons and five daughters; IVIike and James, twins; Mary, Cath- 
erine, Annie, Elizabeth, Julia and John. Mr. Brothers has been promi- 
nent in the local affairs of the township: he has been township trustee 
and a memlier of the school l)oard for several terms : in politics he 
adheres to the Democratic party. He is now about seventy-seven years 
old and his estimaljle wife is eight}--two, both having passed the allotted 
span of life. They are zealous members of the St. Patrick's church at 
Georgetown and they gave liberally of their means and influence to 
build it. 

HUGH O. ADAMS. 

Nature has been lavish in her gifts to America. Each section of 
the country has been provided with at least one source of income. New 
England has its splendid lumber regions, Penn.sylvania its coal fields, 
the south produces cotton, the west has its rich mineral deposits and the 
broad Mississippi valley is the agricultural district of the country, and 



57-1: BIOGRAPHICAL A\W GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

it is upon the agriculturist more than any other class of citizens that 
the prosperity and upbuilding of the country depends. Iowa is one of 
the best cereal-producing portions of the entire land, while its rich pas- 
ture lands afford ample opportunity to the stock-raiser. Mr. Adams is 
among those who are de\-oting their time and energies to farming, his 
valuable homestead being located in Bluff Creek township. He was 
born in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, on the 14th of April, 1844, and is 
a son of Alexander M. and Harriet (Ouinn) Adams, natives of Alle- 
gheny county, Pennsyh-ania, where the former died at the age of sev- 
enty-six years and the latter when she had reached the age of forty 
years. This worthy couple became the parents of fourteen children, 
eight of whom are still living. 

From his early youth Hugh O. Adams has been identified with ag- 
ricultural pursuits. When he was eighteen years of age the Civil war 
broke out and he offered his ser\-ices in defense of the Union cause, 
entering Company H, One Hundred and Fortieth Penns_\'lvania Infantry, 
under the command of Captain Orman. His military career covered a 
period of three years, on the expiration of which he received an hon- 
orable discharge at Washington, D. C, for the war had ended and the 
country no longer needed his services. Returning to his old home in 
the Keystone state, he there resumed the more quiet duties of the farm 
and was thus engaged until about twenty years ago, when, in 1882, he 
came to Iowa. His valuable farm of two hundred acres is located six 
miles north of Albia, in Bluff Creek township, and all of the many and 
substantial improvements thereon stand as monuments to his thrift and 
excellent business ability. He is engaged in diversified farming and 
stock-raising, and in both lines of endeavor is meeting with a high and 
well merited degree of success. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 575 

The marriage of Mr. Adams was celebrated on the 8th of October, 
1868, when Miss Mary Martha Clever became his wife. She, too, was 
born in the old Keystone state, in Allegheny county, and is a daughter 
of Martin and Elizabeth (DeGroft) Clever. Her paternal grandparents 
were Martin and Mary Magdalene (Minick) Clever, while on the 
maternal side she is a granddaughter of Adam and Eve DeGroft. 
Martin Clever, the grandfather, surxived until about eighty-three years 
of age, and his wife reached the age of seventy-five years, both dying 
in Pennsylvania. Martin Cle\er, the father of Mrs. Adams, was born 
near Harrisburg, Pennsyhania. but when nine years of age he removed 
to Allegheny county, that state, six miles northwest of Pittsburg. In the 
spring of 1869 he came to Iowa, first locating north of Albia, but sub- 
sequently removed to that citw and there he still resides. His wife, a 
native of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, died in Allegheny county, 
that state, at the age of thirt}--seven years. Ten children were born of 
this union, and with one e.\ceptit)n all are still living, are married and 
have families of their own. Mrs. Adams remained on the old home 
farm until her marriage, and she, too, has become the mother of ten 
children, one of whom, LeRoy, died at the age of four years and three 
months. Those living are as follows: Martin H., who is married and 
has two children, and the family reside in Chicago, Illinois; Alexander 
George, whose wife died in .\ll)ia. leaving two children, and they are 
being reared by our subject and his wife; Elmira F., who is married 
and has two children; Robert L., who also has two cliildren and is en- 
gaged in business in Albia; Mary M., who is married and had two chil- 
dren, one of w'hom is now deceased; Glen L., who is engaged in operat- 
ing the home place,; Nannie C, who is married and has one child ; Ethel 
G., who is married and has one child; and Avis A., at home. The chil- 



576 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

dren reflect mucli credit upon tlie parents, and the family is one of prom- 
inence in the locality in which thev reside. 



JAMES A. CALHOUN. 

The above named is one of the well established farmers of Frank- 
lin township and enjoj-s general respect among his neighbors and fellow 
citizens generally. This is proved by the fact that he has been entrusted 
with the important office of assessor as well as the consideration accorded 
him in all movements affecting the public interest. Mr. Calhoun's 
paternal ancestry were residents of the Scottish highlands, so famous in 
song and story and the background for many of Sir Walter Scott's 
charming romances. As the highlanders were liorn fighters, it is not 
surprising" to learn that Joseph Alexander Calhoun, the first of this 
family who crossed the .\tlantic, had been ashore but a short tiiue 
when found helping his adopted country against the British in the 
war of 1812. This gallant old highlander, who subsequently ended 
his days in Indiana after living at dilYerent times in other states, left a 
son whom he christened David Bell Calhoun. The latter was born 
in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, in 1819. and after growing up en- 
gaged in farming, but later taught school and clerked in a store for 
awhile at Wheeling, West Virginia. There lived in Allegheny in those 
davs a family by the name of Fife, and as they were also of Scottish 
origin it was natural that David should have been drawn towards them 
on account of racial affinities. It is pleasant to learn, therefore, that 
in time a match was made between David Bell Calhoun and Margaret 
B., daughter of A\'illiam Fife. An intermarriage between the Cal- 
houns and Fifes was peculiarly appropriate, a reunion as it were of 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 577 

the Scottish clans, wliose chivalrous bearing, daring deeds, love affairs 
and wild war music add much spice to the history of the highlands. 
After marriage this couple lived many years in the section of country 
bordering on the upper Ohio, but in 1874 decided to try their fortunes 
in the distant west. Their journey brought them to Appanoose county, 
Iowa, where a location was found on land in Chariton township, on 
which they lived until Mr. Calhoun's death in 1894. They had nine 
children in all, but of these only five are now living, namely : W. F., 
James A.. John B., Mary J. Kingery, of Brighton, and C. C, of Sioux 
Falls, South Dakota. 

James A. Calhoun, second in age of the surviving children, was 
born in Belmont county, Ohio, in 1855, and was a young man when his 
parents came to this section of countryT About five years after his 
arrival, when twenty-fi\-e Aears old, he engaged in teaching, and fol- 
lowed this occupation for eight or ten seasons in Monroe and adjoin- 
ing counties. In 1882 he went to South Dakota, took up a claim and 
spent about eight years in that territory. At the expiration of that 
period he returned to Monroe county and engaged in farming, which has 
since continued to be his regular occupation. His place consists of 
a hundred acres of land, which is all improved and comfortably pro- 
vided as to residence, outbuildings and other improvements. Mr. Cal- 
houn is regarded as a good farmer and esteemed as a man of industrial 
habits, who attends strictly to his own business and is honorable in all 
dealings with his neighbors. While living in South Dakota he held 
the office of trustee, and is at present assessor of Franklin township. In 
1884 he married Martha C, daughter of Samuel and Eliza (Potts) 
Rinehart, who are mentioned in a family sketch on another page of 
this work. Mrs. Calhoun, who was a member of the Christian church, 



578 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

was much esteemed in the social circles to which she helonged as a kind 
and affectionate mother and accommodating neighbor. She died in 
1890, leaving two children, whose names are "Slnry D. and Carl H. 
Calhoun. 

JOHN R. CLARK. 

The paternal ancestors of Mr. Clark were New Englanders. and his 
father, \\'areham G. Clark, was Ijorn and reared in the state of Con- 
necticut, and engaged in mercantile pursuits in New York city for 
several years prior to coming west in 1840. On August 2^, 1843, '^^ 
Troy, Van Buren county, Iowa, he married Jane L. Rankin, a native of 
Ohio, and of Scotch-Irish parentage. This worthy couple were among 
the very first to come to the newly opened territory of Iowa, taking up 
their abode in ^lonroe. or. as it was then called, Kishkekosh 
county, at a place afterward known as Clarks Point, three miles north- 
west of Albia, where young Clark had made claim on May i. 1S43. He 
was one of the enterprising farmers of the county, and remained here 
until his death. June 16, 1890, in his seventy-eighth year. He was 
the representative of Monroe and Appancmse counties in the second 
constitutional convention, held in Iowa City in May, 1846, and in other 
ways was prominently connected with the history of the growth and de- 
velopment of Monroe count}-. His wife died in 1898, in her seventv- 
third year, having become the mother of twelve children, one daughter 
and eleven sons, all of whom are now living: the oldest is fifty-eight 
years of age and the youngest thirty-six, and ten of them are residents 
of Monroe county, one of Nebraska antl one of Idaho. 

One of the twelve is John R. Clark, who was born at Clarks 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 579 

Point, Monroe county, January 3. 1S55, and has been a continuous 
resident of tliis county c\er since, with the exception of two years spent 
in Nebraska, from 187S to 18S0. In the same year as his birth t!ie 
parents sold tlie original place with the intention of moving to Texas, 
but they were deterred frimi this course Ijy the sickness of John R., 
which was thus a fateful e\ent and probably changed the course of the 
lives of the whole family. The parents then bought the place which 
has ever since been known as the old homestead, situated four and one- 
half miles southwest of .\lbia, and where the children all grew up and 
received such educational ach'antages as were obtainable in the district 
schools. Mr. Clark has always been an observant man, and has thus 
supplemented the knowledge which he obtained in his youth so as to be 
prepared fi:)r a successful lousiness career. And the fact tliat he was 
reared on a farm, with all its wholesome environments, and that he has 
been taught the habits of economy and industry and has been strictly 
temperate and moral in his life, have all aided him in attaining an in- 
fluential place in the world. He engaged in farming, threshing and 
sawmilling for some time, and later, with his older brother, \V. Grant 
Clark, opened an agricultural implement store in Albia under the name 
of Clark Brothers. This is one of the leading firms in the county. 
The proprietors iiave dealt extensively in real estate and now own nearly 
one thousand acres of land in the county, and besides dealing in imple- 
ments carry a stixk of llour. feed, etc., and are proprietors of Clark 
Brothers and Company, undertakers and dealers in furniture, this es- 
tablishment being the leading business of that kind in the county. 

Mr. Clark has always been interested in political matters and has 
mainly voted with the Democratic i)arty since he attained his majoritx'. 
In November, 1892, he was elected county auditor and served two years, 



580 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

but was defeated in the race for re-election by the Repubhcan landshde 
in 1894. In 1896 and 1900 he was one of tlie delegates from the sixth 
district of Iowa to the national Pojxilists' conventions. In 1896 he 
became the owner of the Monroe County News, the only Democratic 
paper in the county, and it is largely due to his management that the 
paper has gained such a foothold in Monroe county and has become 
one of the leading Democratic organs of southern Iowa. Mr. Clark 
is a member of the Masonic order, and in religious matters assumes lib- 
eral views. 

On March 2, 1883, Mr. Clark was married at Creston, Iowa, to 
Miss Lilla E. Boggs, who was born and reared in Monroe county, the 
oldest child of Percy and Jemima Boggs, who also were among the very 
earliest settlers of Monroe count)' and are still living at Albia. They 
are both of Virginia birth. Her grandfather, Jnsiah C. Boggs, built the 
first house in Troy township, and possibly in the county, for it was 
constructed as soon as possible after the tirst day of May, 1843. Mr. 
Boggs was prominent in the early history of the county and died at the 
age of eighty-three years, having reared a large family. The children 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Clark are: Lura R., born .\pril 23, 1884; M. 
Grace, September 23, 1885; Wareham Grant, March 9, 1887; Lilla E. 
Beth, June 18, 1890; and Jessie R., April 27, 1894. The two oldest are 
graduates of the Albia high school, and Grace completed a course at the 
C. C. C. College of Des Moines in stenography and typewriting. The 
family reside in a modest home in the north part of Albia, and here Mr. 
Clark devotes much of his time tn fruit culture when not occupied with 
his business. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 581 

SAMUEL N. BELL. 

How \-arie(l and many are the uses of biography! After all, man 
is but a unit in the vast concourse of humanity moving on to a higher 
goal, whose ranks are being constantly depleted and as cjuicklv filled 
again, and when viewed in the distance of time each individual is lost 
in the mass unless some distinguishing mark is found, and therefore 
most useful is l)iography to record the deeds of those who will soon 
step out of the ranks and give place to the onward coming youth, and in 
this record of the past will men of the future find encouragement and 
hope. Li the life of Samuel N. Bell will be found much worthy of 
emulation, and he well deserves a page in this work which is given to the 
memory of the men and women of Appanoose county. 

William and Minerva (Nichols) Bell were the father and mother of 
this gentleman and both claim Washington county, Pennsylvania, as the 
place of their nativity, and in that county they were united in marriage. 
William Bell was a wagon and cabinet maker by trade. In the spring 
of 1853 they moved to Wapello county, Iowa, where they resided until 
the outbreak of the Civil war; Mr. Bell then enlisted in a company of 
Iowa infantry, and in i86j, when fifty years old, he died in St. Louis 
of pneumonia contracted while in the service. Mrs. Bell survived many 
years, passing away in 1897, when at the advanced age of eighty-two 
years. Of the six children of these parents the subject of this sketch 
is the only one now living. 

Samuel N. Bell came into the world in Fayette county, Pennsyl- 
vania, on the 5th of h>bruary, 1844. He grew uj) to maniiood much 
after the manner of other boys and was early introduced to the practical 
side of life, and owing to the earh' death of his father he laiuiched 



582 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

out into an independent course in life when only a hf)}'. In 1869 he 
married Miss Hannah Maria Rice, who was born in Mercer county, 
Pennsylvania ; she came west to Iowa several years before her parents 
made the journey and made her home with her brother in Cincinnati, 
Iowa. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Bell settled down to married 
life on what is known as the old Bell farm and were there actively en- 
gaged in farming until 1893, when they removed to their present com- 
fortable home west of Cincinnati, where they carry on general farming 
operations on one hundred acres of choice land. 

Four children were born to the union of Mr. and Mrs. Bell. l)ut only 
two of these are now living. Edwin R. Bell is a farmer and resides 
on the place just east of the home farm; Delia Bell lives at home with 
her parents. The family are members of the Baptist church of Liv- 
ingston and are highly respected throughout the comnumity where they 
have so long been useful citizens. 



LIVINGSTON G. PARKER. 

This gentleman, who is at present li\'ing a retired life at Living- 
ston, is one of those interesting characters whom every one likes to 
meet and talk to. He appeals to us an honored veteran of the Civil 
war, in which he rose to the rank of captain, as a minister of the gospel, 
as one of the early pioneers and a man of many varied occupations at 
different periods of life. Having lived long and always been a close 
observer, Mr. Parker can talk entertainingly on a large variety of 
subjects, and it well repays an efifort to "draw him out" concerning 
events he has witnessed or been a part of. When it is mentioned that 
Mr. Parker was born in tlie vear of the battle of Waterloo, it will be 




LIYINGSTOH G. PARKER. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 585 

readily appreliended how large a scope of the world's greatest history 
is embraced within the limits of his career. When he was a baby James 
Madison was President of the United States, Victoria had not begun 
to rule England, Napoleon was emperor of France, the state where he 
now lives had not even been organized into a territory, but was still a 
wilderness filled with Indians and wolves, which made night hideous 
with their hungry bowlings. It was his fortune to take an active part 
as a pioneer in one of the American states and to be in touch, as a soldier 
or civilian, with the mighty events which led up to the Civil war or 
occurred during the four years of its continuance. He is a grandson 
of Joseph W. and Abigail Parker, the former of Massachusetts and 
the latter of Vermont, who settled in New York after their marriage. 
The grandfather fought in the Revolutionary war, and after the con- 
clusion of peace engaged, in farming, which was his principal occupa- 
tion throughout his life. The father of our subject, Jeremiah Parker, 
died in his seventy-se\'enth year, while his wife Abigail, whose death 
occurred but a few years ago, had attained the age of ninety. 

Livingston G. Parker, a son of the above mentioned couple, was 
born in Watertown, New York, February 7, 181 5. and as he grew up 
secured an unusually good education for those days. Besides going 
through the common schools, he was graduated from the Belleville 
Academy and took a course in civil engineering. He next entered 
Union College, now Union University, at Schnenectady, New York, 
in which he was graduated in 1835. After teaching school for a num- 
ber of years in northern New York, he commenced the reading of law 
with his uncle, Orson Parker, who afterward became noted as a re- 
vivalist, but our subject was never admitted to the bar. In 1S38 he 
removed to Ohio, where he was employed as an engineer in construct- 



586 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

ing the Miami canal, and in tliat state, on the 2d of June, 1841. lie 
was united in marriage to Miss Nancy J. Barney, a sister of a college- 
mate, with whom he had heen associated in the building of the canal. 
Their wedding tour consisted of a trip to northeastern Indiana, where 
Mr. Parker secured employment in constructing dams and water power 
for a milling company. He afterward conducted a book store at 
Urbana. Ohio, for a time, and both he and his wife taught in the 
public schools of that city for several years. They came to Appanoose 
county, Iowa, in 1854, settling at Livingston, where he has ever since 
resided. After improving his farm to some extent he engaged with 
J. T. Place in editing the Appanoose Chieftain, but publishing a paper 
m Centerville at that time was an uphill vocation, and he soon aban- 
doned the business, although to him is accorded the honor of being 
the first Republican editor of the county. He taught school one winter 
in Pleasant township, and among his pupils was C. A. Stanton, with 
whom he has kept up a lifelong friendship. During the years of 1859- 
60 Mr. Parker was engaged in surveying a route for the proposed State 
Line Railroad, which was afterward built and known as the Missouri, 
Iowa & Nebraska, now a part of the Burlington system. 

When the Civil war was inaugurated, though past the age of mili- 
tary duty, in company with his eldest son, Mr. Parker enlisted in 
Company B. Sixth Kansas Cavalry, and shared its fortunes until in 
May, 1863. He had previously been made cjuartermaster sergeant and 
was then given a recruiting commission for Company M, Sixth Kansas 
Cavalry, but was almost immediately given command of Company B 
of that regiment and stationed at W'estport. Missouri, Captain Harvey 
and the lieutenants being on detached service, while later he became 
first lieutenant of Company M. Fifth Kansas Cavalry, and afterward 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 587 

captain of the company. The company was a typical frontier crowd, 
composed of Mexicans. Indians, soldiers from the regular army and 
men from almost every state in the Union and of almost every nation- 
ality and occupation, but this company has a record not excelled by any 
that served in the Civil war. They engaged in the pursuit of Ouantrell 
after the burning of Lawrence. Kansas, and on that occasion were in 
the saddle for thirty-six hours continuously. When the regiment was 
mustered out. after three years of service. Companies L and M. which 
were recruited later, were consolidated under Captain Parker, attached 
to the Fifteenth Kansas and marched across the plains to Fort Larned, 
Kansas. They afterward made the return march to Fort Leavenworth 
and were mustered out in October, 1865. 

During the seven years Mr. Parker had resided in Appanoose 
count\' prior to the war he had engaged in farming, school teaching, 
surveying, editing a newspaper, and in addition had been licensed to 
preach by the Baptist denomination, of which church he had been a 
memlier for years. In the summer of 1866 he was regularly ordained 
and called to the pastorate of the Baptist church at St. John, Missouri, 
at which place, together with Exline and Livingston, in this county, he 
preached for a number of years. In 1871 he was a candidate on the 
Republican ticket for the position of state senator, but was defeated 
by Senator E. J. Gault. The six children resulting from his marriage 
were: Edward L.,: John, deceased; Benjamin; Charles; Will, de- 
ceased; and Albert L. After a happy married life of over fifty-three 
years the wife died in 1894, and since that time Captain Parker has 
made his home with his sons, Benjamin and Charles, where lie has en- 
joyed the love and respect of a much larger circle of friends than usually 
falls to the lot of man. He became a resident of this commonwealth 



588 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

soon after its admission into the Union, availing himself of an oppor- 
tunity to join one of those wagon trains quite common in those days, 
made up of lumbering vehicles called "prairie schooners," and often 
containing parties of several scores of people. In this slow-moving 
outfit he journeyed west, and was on the road many days before reach- 
ing his destination in Appanoose county, Iowa. He became the founder 
of the town of Livingston, which bears his name, and for years was 
the postmaster of that hamlet. In 1892, feeling that he had perfomied 
his full share, he retired from active Imsiness, and the evening of his 
life is passing serenely, amid friends of long standing and grateful 
relatives, but best of all in the consciousness of past time well spent 
and duty well performed. 

DAVID STEEL. 

To a student of biography there is nothing more interesting than 
to examine the history of a self-made man and to detect the elements 
of character which have enabled him to pass on the highway of life 
many of the companions of his youth who at the outset of their careers 
were more advantageously equipped or endowed. The subject of this 
re\-iew has through his own exertions attained an honorable position and 
marked prestige among the representative men of the west, and with 
signal consistency it may be said that he is the architect of his own for- 
tunes and one whose success amply justifies the application of the some- 
what hackneyed but most expressive title, "a self-made man." 

Mr. Steel was Iwrn in .\yrshire. Scotland, on the 8th of January, 
1852, his parents being Matthew and Elizabeth (Bird) Steel. They, 
too, were natives of the land of hills and lieathcr and spent their entire 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 5S9 

lives there. The father fnllowed the dccupation of fanning in order 
to pro\'ide for his family, which numbered ten children. 

David Steel had good common school advantages and when twelve 
years of age began mining coal, a business with which he has since 
been connected, either as a mine oi)erator or owner, and to-day he is an 
important factor in the de\elopment of the rich coal resources of Ap- 
panoose county. Ere leaving his native land he was married in 1873 to 
Miss Jean Dinning, a daughter of Matthew and Martha (Nicol) Din- 
ning. Four children were born to them in Scotland : Matthew, 
Martha, Elizabeth and Jean. \\'ith his wife and children Mr. Steel 
sailed for the United States on the 3d of November, 1880. He has 
never had occasion to regret his determination to seek a home in America. 
In this count r}- three other children ha\e been added to the family, 
David, William and Hugh. 

Making his way westward, Mr. Steel was engaged in mining coal 
in Centerville and in 1883 came to Cincinnati, where he has since re- 
sided. Here he was again employed as a coal miner until 1888, when 
he joined several well known business men in the establishment of the 
Thistle Coal Company, and a shaft was sunk at wbat is now known as 
the Thistle mine. A rich coal 1)ed was struck and the output of the 
mine soon brought an excellent financial return to the owners. Later 
Mr. Steel and David Dinning purchased the interest of the other part- 
ners and are now the sole proprietors of two paying and valuable mines. 
In his political views Mr. Steel is an earnest Republican, giving a 
loyal support to the men and measures of the party. He is identified 
with the Masonic fraternity as a Master Mason and he and his wife 
hold membership in the Congregational church. He is a most genial 
man, easily approachable by all who may have occasion to seek an audi- 



590 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

ence with him, and is very hospitable and generous, being sympathetic in 
manner and nature and imbued with a broad liumanitarian spirit. His 
life record pro\'es the force of untiring industry as a factor in the busi- 
ness world, and although he started out for himself empty-handed he is 
to-day classed among the prosperous and progressive men of his adopted 
city. 

CHARLES CLAWSON. 

Charles Clawson is the proprietor of a n:eat market at Cincinnati 
and also a well known stock dealer. He was born in Lexington, Mc- 
Lean county, Illinois, January i, 1868. and is a son of William and Min- 
nie (Myers) Clawson. His father was a native of Indiana, and his 
mother of Illinois. Jesse Clawson, the paternal grandfather of our 
subject, was born in Pennsylvania and was of Pennsylvania Dutch de- 
scent. Hoping to enjoy better business opportunities in the west he 
emigrated to Indiana at an early day in its development, and prior to 
the Civil war took up his abode in Lee county, Iowa. Subsequently he 
removed to Wayne county, Iowa, and died at Promise City. By occupa- 
tion he was a farmer throughout his entire life. The parents of our 
subject were married in Illinois and the year 1877 witnessed their ar- 
rival in Iowa. They settled north of Corydon in Wayne county and 
later became residents of Allerton, Iowa, where they yet reside. By 
their marriage they had eight children, one of whom is deceased. 

Upon his father's farm Charles Clawson was reared and early be- 
came familiar with the work of tilling the soil. He obtained a common 
school education. Not desiring to follow the plow as an occupation, at 
nineteen he became connected with the butchering business in Aller- 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GEXEALOCICAL HISTORY. 501 

ton. where lie remained for two years. He then went to Mendota, 
Missouri, and entered tlic employ of the Putnam Supply Company, 
with which he was connected for five years. On the expiration of that 
period he arri\-ed in Cincinnati, and with the money which he had saved 
embarked in business on his own account as proiirietor of a good meat 
market here. He also deals in stock and owns two imported stallions. 
In his business interests he is associatetl with his brt)ther-in-law. George 
M. Smith. 

In 189 1 occurred the marriage of Mr. Clawson and Miss Mary 
Smith, of Mendota, Missouri, and they now have three children. In his 
political views Mr. Clawson is a stalwart Republican and has served as 
constable and in other minor offices in his town. Socially he is identified 
with the Masonic fraternity and with the Independent Order of United 
Workmen. He has spent much of his life in Iowa, and in Cincinnati 
he has become recognized as a trustworthy man of business who means 
to win success through perseverance and honorable methods, and who 
therefore is accorded a good patronage. 

JACOB CONDRA. 

One of the most pleasant diversions which one can enjoy is to hear 
from his own lips the personal reminiscences of the old settler, who has 
passed the greater majority of his allotted years, and now, retired from 
those toils in which he once delighted, looks back to the days that are 
only a memory and forward in hope of the future. For him there is no 
present; he lives in that sweet, quiet interval when the tempest-tossed 
world seems receding in the distance and the sea of life is narrowing 
to the harbor of the e\-ermore. Of such a character is this sketch written. 



502 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

and too briefly must we record the life that is so rich in experiences of 
the past. 

For over half a century has Jacob Condra been one of the honored 
residents of Appanoose county. Born in Crawford county, Indiana, on 
the 25th of March, 1816, he passed his youth and early manhood on his 
father's farm, and in 1840 removed to Knox county, Illinois, where he 
tilled the soil for ten years. In 1850 he came to Iowa and entered four 
hundred acres of land, where he has since maintained his home. The 
trip from Illinois to Iowa was made by Mr. Condra and his wife in a 
wagon drawn by an ox team. They started March 20, 1851, and ar- 
rived on the first day of April. At the close of the Civil war Mr. Condra 
distributed all but one hundred and seventy-five acres of his land among 
his children. On this latter part they now make their home, but rent the 
land and are retired from all active labor. 

In 1838 Mr. Condra was married to Miss Louise Adams, and at 
the time of this writing they have spent sixty-four years of happy 
wedded life, experiencing joy and sorrow with equal share. Mrs. 
Condra was born April 11, 1820. They became the parents of eleven 
children, of whom three died in infancy, two died after reaching ma- 
turit}-, and six are still living, as follows: Isaac N., Rebecca Odell, 
Leander Franklin, Mary Angeline Kellar, Mrs. Lydia Trimble and 
John Alonzo. The parents of this family now live alone on their farm 
and are in very poor health. When able to do so they were regular 
attendants of the Methodist church in Simpson. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 593 

O. S. CLARK. 

Wlien O. S. Clark opened his eyes to the hght of tlie world the 
territory of Iowa had not been admitted to statehood, and he certainly, 
therefore, can claim the title of being an old resident of the state. Great 
has been the progress of this state since that time, and among the men 
who have helped to develop the resources of this favored country Mr. 
Clark holds a prominent place. His father's name was William G. 
Clark. He was born in Connecticut and spent his early life there. It 
was in 1843 that he came to Iowa and located in Troy township, Monroe 
county, at a place called Clarks Point. Here he took up a claim of six 
hundred and forty acres of raw land and was soon engaged in making 
this virgin soil bring forth useful crops where before it had run to 
wildness. In the fall of 1855 he bought about four hundred acres in 
Monroe township and remained on this farm until his death, in 1893, 
when at the age of seventy-seven. He was married in Van Buren 
county, in May, 1843, to Jane S. Rankin. She was a native of Ohio 
and came to Indiana with her parents at the age of fourteen and came 
on to Iowa in 1844. She became the mother of twelve children, eleven 
sons and one daughter, of whom all are living. Mr. Qark was a Dem- 
ocrat, but was an abolitionist in regard to the slave question. 

O. S. Clark was the oldest child in the above family, and his birth 
occurred in Troy township, January 12, 1845. The first nine years of 
his life were spent in Troy township, and he was then taken to Monroe 
township, where he completed his mental training in the common schools. 
He remained on the home farm until thirty years old, and at that age 
was married to Sarah F. Babb, a daughter of Isaac Babb, who was one 
of Iowa's pioneer settlers. Seven children were born to Air. and Mrs. 



594 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

Clark, one of wliom died in infancy. The otliers are as follows : Sarah, 
Margaret, Susan. Ralph, Benjamin and Luther. Mr. Clark hought the 
farm on which he now lives in 1875, and at the present time owns two 
hundred and fifty acres of good land, on whicli he raises excellent crops. 
He is a member of the Prohibition party and is one of the highly re- 
spected citizens of Monroe county, always being found on the side of 
right and progress. 



GEORGE c. Mccormick. 

No paper in Monroe county, Iowa, publishes more news, is more 
public spirited in its support of all measures afifecting the town and 
county or enjoys more full_\- the backing of the best citizens of the 
county, as shown by the large and representative subscription list, than 
the Albia Republican, whose success is the result of the efforts of its 
enterprising and energetic editor, G. C. McCormick. And it is most 
fitting to record the life history of the journal ami its owner in this 
book of biography of two of Iowa's most progressive counties. 

Mr. McCormick comes of Scotch-Irish ancestry, who came to 
America before the Revolution, members of the family taking part in 
that war, also in the war of 18 12, the Mexican and Civil wars, so that 
they may be listed among the patriotic families of America. The first 
ancestors settled in Virginia, then migrated west to Indiana, and from 
there to Iowa, in 1867. The parents of our Monroe county editor were 
Mont and Hattie McCormick; the former was a farmer and veterina- 
rian and served three years in Company A, Fifty-ninth Indiana, dur- 
ing the Civil war; his wife was a school teacher and a most estimable 
woman, as the lasting influence she exercised over her children proved. 




GEORGE G. Mccormick. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 597 

It was after liis parents had taken up their residence in Sandyville, 
Warren county, Iowa, that (leorge C. McCormick came into the world, 
on October ^o, 187^. He was not liorn witli a silver sixxin in his 
mouth, and now that he is on the fair road to success he might have 
considered that an incumbrance rather than a benefit. But he was in- 
dustrious from the start, and the fact that the first eighteen years of 
his life were spent on a farm probably had much toi do with the shaping 
of his character and subsequent development. At the age of eighteen 
he moved to College Springs, Iowa, and entered the preparatory de- 
partment of Amity College at that place. As he was not afraid of 
hard work, he paid his way through school by doing chores for his 
board, teaching school and acting as general agent for a book com- 
pany, and notwithstanding such restrictions he went through with his 
class and graduated in 1897 with the degree of Ph. B., having covered 
the general collegiate course of studies. He had already decided to 
make a career of journalism, and three months before graduation had 
bought the College Springs Current Press. He published this ]iaper 
until January, 1899, when he bought the Albia Republican and re- 
moved to Albia in order to enter upon his duties as editor and pub- 
lisher. Mr. McCormick is a man of push and ability, and he has, in 
the short time he has owned it, made his paper the official organ of 
the county and has placed it on a firm financial basis, so that it is a 
paying property. The paper, like its editor, is straight Republican in 
politics, but on the questions of general policy that are continually be- 
fore the people for settlement it advocates progress and the general 
welfare of all. In 1902 he built a two-story printing office, and the 
entire office has been newly equipped in the last four years, so that 
there are few country newspapers anywhere which are better fitted up 



598 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

for tlieir work. The paper is a six-column quarto, all home print, and 
the average circulation for 1902 was 2.204 copies. 

Mr. McCormick is one of the whole-souled, genial gentlemen who 
make friends everywhere they go, and his hitherto successful career is 
due to these and other solid elements of character. He early learned 
how to work hard and effecti\ely, and this happy qua'itv. combined 
with his enthusiasm, makes him a winner in whatever field of endeavor 
he may engage. While he has advocated the principles of the Repti.b- 
lican party and tlius has been able to be of much assistance to his 
party, he has never chosen to enter the field of politics, and prefers 
to devote himself to his business. He is a member of the Methodist 
church, belongs to the Masons, the Woodmen and the Yeoman frater- 
nities, and is a willing helper in all branches of social and religious 
work. On June 22, 1897, Mr. McCormick was married at College 
Springs, Iowa, to Miss Carrie Sherman, the daughter of S. L. Sher- 
man. She was liorn and reared at College Springs, Page county. They 
have one son, Paul Sherman McCormick. who was born August 12, 
190 1. 



JOSEPH MARINE. 

The subject of this sketch is one of those quiet, unpretentious men 
whose names are not seen in the papers nor on the ballots of political 
parties, who pursue "the even tenor of their way,"' and whose industry, 
in the mass, is the prime factor in making the wheels go round. Mr. 
Marine owns a good sized piece of land in the matchless farming state 
of Iowa, and this he has worked industriously for many years and still 
works in person, though now in the seventy-first year of his age. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 5^9 

Thougli uiKjhtrusixe in niaiiners and inclined to attend strictly to his 
own business, wliile letting- that of others alone, Joseph Marine is recog- 
nized by his intimate friends as a man of sterling worth and blameless 
life. The famil)- came originally from Xew Jersey in the persons of 
Moses and Ellen (Monroe) Marine, who settled first in Ohio and came 
west to Iowa in 1854. The father was a farmer and followed that occu- 
pation for a livelihood until his death in 1870, two years after his wife 
had departed from the scenes of earth. They liad the unusually large 
number of fifteen children, of whom only Moses, Joseph, Alexander, 
Sarah and Maria are now ali\'e, those dead being Robert, Samuel, John, 
Nichols, William, \\'ashington, Ilof, Mary, Margaret and Louise. 

Joseph INIarine, who was the seventh of this numerous family, was 
Ijorn .\ugust 25, 1832, in Belmont county, Ohio, and .spent his boyhood 
at home. In 1850, when about eighteen years old, he caught the western 
fever and crossed the Mississippi into the great state of Iowa, but in 
two years felt such a longing for a sight of the old Buckeye home that 
he could not resist the pressure to return to Ohio. However, he did not 
long remain in his native state, but, again turning his face northwest, 
came back to Iowa, and from that time until now has been one of its 
most steadfast citizens. 

In 1855 Mr. Marine was married to Lucy, daughter of William and 
Mary Foster, to which union an only son, Alexander Lincoln, was born. 
Mr. Marine owns a farm of two hundred and forty-nine acres, which 
he works himself, despite his more than three-score and ten years of 
age. He and his wife are both devnted Christians and regular attend- 
ants of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which they base long been 
members. 



600 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

J. D. CLEVELAND, M. D. 

The family to which this eminent pliysician belongs has double 
charms for consideration, both as pioneers and patriots. Its first repre- 
sentatives figured conspicuously in the formative period of Iowa, while 
later descendants bore themselves bravely in behalf of the Union during 
the crucial era of the Civil war. Others have done well their part in 
various employments and in the discharge of diverse duties, such as 
fall to busy men in a great and growing country. It is fitting therefore 
that a volume devoted to the representati\-e men of Iowa should contain 
some particulars of so interesting a family connection, and no apology 
is necessary for sketching at some length the li\es of Dr. Cleveland and 
his immediate ancestors. 

When Zedekiah Cleveland reached Iowa in 1835 the prospect was 
not so pleasing as it afterward became. It was at the time practically a 
wild and unredeemed territory. There were no railroads as yet, the 
principal avenues of communication being the rivers, and population 
was still very sparse and widely scattered. Only in a few places had 
the rich prairie sod of this region been broken by the plow, and little 
promise was given then of the mammoth corn crops which have aston- 
ished the people of the present generation. Zedekiah Cleveland was 
still little more than a boy when he reached Iowa, his birth having 
occurred in Washington county, Xew York, in 181 1. but he was an 
adventurous spirit and had already seen much of life both on land and 
sea. He reached the west about the time of the Black Hawk purchase 
and became a pioneer farmer as well as one of the first hotel men in 
that locality. Later he moved to Van Buren and ivom there to Davis 
county, where he spent the remainder of his days. It is difficult to 
overestimate the value of the services rendered to those young western 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. GOl 

territories in tlieir incipicncy by sucli men as Zedekiah Cleveland. It 
is easy enough to travel the road after it is graded or to cross the ri\-er 
after it is bridged, but the jjioneer does his best work before there are 
either roads or britlges. Each one, too. became a nucleus, a rallying 
point around which by degrees a settlement was formed from which 
gradually grew a county, eventuallv to become an integral part of a 
great state. We hear of this work collectively on account of its last- 
ing results, but not much individually, as the separate units disappear 
in the general amalgamation. Zedekiah Cleveland in early life chose 
for his Ijride Anna Ware, a nati\'e of Orange county, Indiana, who 
shared all the hardships of his earlier struggles and passed away at 
the old home in Davis county when about fifty-six years old. The 
\'enerable husbantl sur\-i\ed his faithful companion some years, and 
finally closed his eyes on the world and its contentions in 1882, when 
approaching the seventy-second year of his age. 

J. D. Cleveland, son of this worthy pioneer, was born in Lee 
county. Iowa. Xovember 9, 1857, and remainetl at home until the 
twenty-first year of his age. He then entered the normal school at 
Bloomfield and from there went to the Xorthwestern Medical College 
at St. Joseph, Missouri, where he was grautlated in the class of 1892. 
His first practice after receiving iiis degree was at Cleannont, Missouri, 
but after remaining there a while he returned to his native state. Dr. 
Cleveland located for short periods at different places in Iowa, growing 
steadily in reputation all the time, until finally he reached Iconium, 
where he has been a fixture since 1900. He is quite popular o\'er the 
territor}- covered 1)_\- his professional work and is an excellent example 
of the self-made man. who rises without extraneous aids until, by slow 
degrees and steady progress, he reaches that condition of stability which 



G02 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

is the culminating anilxtion of every aspiring citizen. In politics tlie 
Doctor is Democratic and had the pleasure of casting his first presiden- 
tial vote for Grover Cleveland. Nevertheless he is rather independent 
in his political views and does not hesitate to criticise the acts or poli- 
cies of his party when they seem to him wrong. Dr. Cleveland is justly 
proud of his pioneer parents and also of his two brothers, who luade 
honorable records on the right side during the great war for the time. 
One of these, E. Aaron Cleveland, was a member of the Sixth Regi- 
ment, Iowa Volunteer Infantry, while his brother, Cyrus M., belonged to 
the Forty-sixth Regiment. 

In 1888, while still in college. Dr. Cleveland was married to Miss 
Mally Fraley, by whom he had two children, but only one of these, a 
son, is now living. In 1895 Dr. Cleveland took a second wife in the 
person of Miss Belle Sponner, a popular young lady of Centerville, by 
whom he has an only daughter, having lost one child by death. The 
family are communicants of the Methodist church, in which Mrs. Cleve- 
land is a zealous worker, and they enjoy high standing in the best 
circles of society. Dr. Cleveland is a member of the County Medical 
Society and is also connected with the Modern Woodmen of America. 
Both personally and professionally he is much esteemed at Iconium 
as well as at other places in the state where he has acquaintances. 



R. A. SPENCER. 

Among the representative business men of Moravia is numbered 
R. A. Spencer, the proprietor of a livery, sale and feed stable, located 
one block from the northwest corner of the square. His barn is large, 
commodious and well arranged for the accommodation of horses and 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 008 

carriages, and he keeps some fine driving stock and good travelers, as 
well as a nice line of vehicles. He caters to the wants of his customers 
and makes a specialty of the traveling man's patronage. Genial and 
affable in manner and strictly fair in his business dealings, he has 
become very popular and is well known throughout both Appanoose 
and Monroe counties. 

Mr. Spencer was born in Monroe township, Monroe county, 
about thirty-five years ago. and his early life was spent upon the old 
homestead there. His father, John Spencer, was born and reared in 
Kentucky, and from there remo\-ed to Indiana, where he married Miss 
Nancy Alexander, a native of the Hoosier state. In 1855, loading 
their household goods into a wagon, they came to Iowa and took up 
their residence in Monroe county, where the father developed a fine 
farm of six hundred acres, lieing one of the most successful agricul- 
<:urists and stock raisers in his community. There he died, honored 
i.nd respected by all who knew him. In his family were seven children, 
a follows: James; Wiliam ; Mrs. Lovina B. Wedman, of Nebraska; 
J<hn; Roland A., of this review; G. B. ; and Mollie, who is living 
with her mother in Albia, Iowa. 

On the home farm Roland A. Spencer was early reared to habits 
of 'ndustry, and his literary education was obtained in the public schools 
of 1 is native county. He followed farming until 1900, when he came 
to iMoravia and embarked in the livery business, which be has since 
carri 'd on with marked success, his patronage steadily increasing until 
he now has a good trade. Beside his business property he has a nice 
home in the southwest part of the town, where he owns a six-acre plat. 

Mr. Spencer was married on the I5tb of December, 1900, to Miss 
Alice Andrews, a woman of intelligence and culture, who presides with 



604 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

gracious dignity over his home. PoHtically lie affihates with the Demo- 
cratic party, and fraternally he is connected with the Masonic lodge of 
Moravia. 



WILLIAM A. CALLEN. 

One of the men of Appanoose county who started in life with 
few of the artificial aids to success and by pluck, industry and perse- 
verance and after engaging in many pursuits has now arrived at a 
place of prominence in the affairs of his city and exerts a wide influ- 
ence in all public matters is \\'illiam A. Callen. the mayor of the 
thriving city of Centerville. He has earned that enviable distinction of 
being a self-made man and possesses the force of character which always 
accompanies such a man. The father, Peter H. Callen, was a native of 
the state of Tennessee, and the mother, Susan F. Willett, a native of 
Virginia. The parents of both had settled in Appanoose county about 
1852, and there they were married, .\fter their marriage they farmed 
for a few years in Franklin township, then removed to Orleans, where 
he engaged in the general merchandise business for two years, and then 
came to Moulton, Iowa, and carried on mercantile pursuits for a 
period of twenty-one years. The ne.xt move was to Eldon, Iowa, where 
this worthy couple now reside, but he is retired from active business. 
They became the parents of four children, of whom our subject is the 
oldest. 

William A. was born on his father's farm in Franklin town- 
ship, Appanoose county, Iowa, on the 8th of Xo\-ember, 1864, but 
was reared to manhood and received his early education in Moulton. 
After studying pharmacy he followed that occupation for one year in 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 605 

Nebraska and also one year in Colorado. Then, returning to Moulton, 
he taught in the country schools for two years. He first came to Cen- 
terville in 1890. and there served three years as deputy county auditor. 
Then, in connection with J. M. Willett, he embarked in the grocery 
business for two vears. I-'rom 1S95 ^'^ '^97 '^^ ^^'"^^ ''^ ^'^^ ''^'i' estate 
and contract business. On June 13, 1898, Mr. Callen was appointed 
mayor of the city and was elected in August of the same year, at a 
special election in March, 1899, was re-elected and again in 1901. As a 
further proof of his popularity, he was elected to this office in a strong 
Republican city, although he has lieen a lifelong adherent of the De- 
mocracy. Mr. Callen is a prominent member (of the orders of the Elks 
and the Knights of Pythias. His marriage occurred in 1893 to Miss 
Minnie T. Swearingen, and they have two bright children in their 
home. 

CLYDE E. SAWYERS, M. D. 

Above is the name and title of a rising young physician at Center- 
\'ille, who has only been in "practice there a few years, but has already 
obtained a hold that is a guarantee of future success. Dr. Sawyers 
may be said to have inherited his right to adopt the medical profession, 
as his father was for years a distinguished physician of Appanoose 
count}-, whose fame and acquaintance extended all over the state. 

Clyde E., son of the late Dr. Sylvester H. and Mary F. (Miller) 
Sawyers, was born at Unionville, Iowa, July 3, 1868, and grew up in 
the atmosphere characteristic of the office and surroundings of a busy 
physician. After attending school in his native town several years he 
took a course in Parsons College at Fairfield, Iowa, where he was grad- 
uated in the class of 1889. Shortly afterward he entered the College 



606 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

of Physicians and Surgeons at St. Louis, Missouri, where he received 
the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1891. Not satisfied with this, 
however, tlie ambitious aspirant for distinction in medical science 
matriculated at the famous Rush Medical College of Chicago and 
received his diploma there with the class of 1894. In the following 
year he opened an office for practice at Centerville, subsequent to a 
short experience at Moravia, and since then his progress towards his 
ultimate goal has been steady and flattering. 

Dr. Sawyers is a member of the Appanoose and W'ayne Counties 
Medical Society and the Iowa State Medical Association. He is promi- 
nent in Masonry, having reached the Knight Templar degree in that 
ancient order, and in politics he is an earnest though conservative ad- 
vocate of Repnl)lican principles of government. Dr. Sawyers is equally 
attractive on the social as on the professional side of life, and his mar- 
riage in 1902 with Miss Katherine Lockman was one of the interesting 
events in Centerville society circles. 



CHARLES H. STEVENSON. 

This gentleman, one of the early pioneer boys of Monroe county, 
now one of its highly respected citizens, formerly well known as a 
capable teacher, and now the prosperous owner of the Avery Valley 
fruit farm in Mantua township, belongs to one of the prominent old 
families of the Western Reserve of Ohio. His grandfather, John 
Stevenson, Sr., was born in Ireland, though of Scotch descent, the 
history of the family going back through three hundred years of high- 
land annals. He married Fanny Blaine, a relative of the famous states- 
man, James G. Blaine, and among their children was John Stevenson, 




CHARLES H. STEYEHSON. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 009 

Jr., who was born near Ballintraw, Westmoreland parish, Ireland, and 
was reared there till he was sixteen years old. He then came to 
America and settled in Cleveland, Ohio, and when he was seventeen 
years of age he was married to Miss Dorliska Bates, a native of Otsego 
connty. New York. Her grandfather was a cousin of General Putnam, 
and under that gallant leader served in the Revolutionary war. He 
married Lucy Love, a resident of Plattsburg, New York, and one of 
their children was Charles Bates, who was born in Connecticut, and mar- 
ried Mary Crouch, who was born in Odessa, Russia. In 185 1 John Ste- 
venson, with his family, came west along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers 
to Eddyville, Iowa, and on the 8th of November settled on government 
land in Mantua township, Monroe county. Here he devoted his labors 
to the development of the virgin soil, and died there in 1896, when 
seventy-nine years of age. He was liberal in his religious views and a 
Democrat in politics. His excellent wife lived to be sixty-three years 
of age. From this marriage of John Stevenson, Jr., and Dorliska 
Bates there were seven children : Robert, a railroad conductor, who 
was murdered in Stockton, California ; George W. ; James Freder- 
ick; Ebbin C, who died at the age of twenty-seven; Charles H. ; G. 
F., a soldier of the Thirty-sixth Iowa Infantry in the Civil war; and 
Laura J. Stevenson, of Monroe count}-. 

Charles H. Stevenson, the fifth child in this family, was Ijorn 
near Mentor, Lake county, Ohio, April 11, 1846. He was five years 
old when he came with bis parents to Iowa, so that he was reared 
among the pioneer scenes of what was then a western state. He re- 
ceived his education under private teachers at home, and for his dili- 
gence and perseverance in his studies at the age of sixteen he received 
the first teacher's certificate granted in Monroe county under the new 



610 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

school system. He was elected to teach the school in his home district 
at a salary of thirty dollars a month, the school to open on the first 
Monday in September. Bnt this intended peaceful pursuit was inter- 
rupted, and he resigned his position to accept thirteen dollars a month 
to assist in the preservation of the Union. He enlisted on August i, 
1862, in Company D, Twenty-second Iowa Volunteers, with which 
he served for three years, and his regiment was in some of the hardest 
campaigns of the Civil war. It was the first to cross the Mississippi 
river in Grant's Vicksburg campaign; it won honor in the siege of 
Vicksburg and gained renown for the state of Iowa by its gallant 
assault on Fort Beauregard, May 22, 1863. Mr. Stevenson was with 
his regiment when it was ordered to the Department of the Gulf, and 
was engaged in the Red river campaign. In July, 1864, the regiment 
was ordered to Norfolk, Virginia, and it ]5articipated in the siege of 
Petersburg and Richmond, remaining there till after the explosion of 
the mines at Petersburg, July 30, 1864, after which the regiment was 
ordered to the Shenandoah valley under General Sheridan in the 
famous Shenandoah valley campaign of 1864. He was captured in the 
battle of Winchester, Virginia, September 19, 1864, and for almost 
seven months following suffered in southern prisons, being confined in 
Libby fifty-two days, and the remainder of the time at Salisbury and 
Andersonville. During his prison life he was instrumental in saving 
the lives of some of his comrades by dividing his rations with them. 
At the close of hostilities he received an honorable discharge at Daven- 
port, Iowa, and then returned home. 

He was then again elected to teach the home school which he had 
given up three years before to go in defense of his country's flag, and 
was the successful teacher of the scIkkjI fur two vears, when he was 



BIOGRAPHICAL AXD GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 611 

elected ti) take tlie sclinul at Lil)ert_\-, tlie largest district school in 
Wapello cnunty. having an enrollment (jf one hundred twenty-eight 
pupils. He conducted this school successfully for two }-ears, when 
failing health, due to the exposures of prison life, compelled him to 
gi\e up the schoolroom, which was the pride of his life. Since this time 
Mr. Stevenson has given his attention principally to the husiness which 
was mentioned at the beginning of this sketch, and his success as a 
horticulturist has been as remarkable as it is well deserved, the Avery 
Valley fruit farm lieing the equal of any in this portion of the state. 

When Mr. Stevenson was twenty-one years old he married one 
of his pupils, "the prettiest girl in the county," so he says. Ellen E. 
Swope was Irarn in Virginia, but being brought at an early age to this 
state, was reared here. Her parents, Dax'id R. and Nancy Ellen Swope, 
both died in Wapello county, Iowa. Mrs. Stevenson died May 13, 
1899, leaving nine children : Mrs. Ida Mosher, of Bluff Creek town- 
ship, Monroe county;: Alice B. Sears, of Buxton, Iowa; Clyde, who 
is one of the superintendents of the coal drills of the Burton Coal Com- 
pany, Robert H. ; Andice Lesley; Mrs. Teda Colvin, of Bluff Creek 
township: Lellie E. ; Carrie S. : and J. Maurice at home. One child, 
Emma Rocella, died at the age of twenty-six years. The children all 
received good educations, and some of them have been successful teach- 
ers in \\'apello and Monroe counties. Mr. Stevenson is a stanch Re- 
publican, and as he was a defender of the Union in the days of civil 
strife, so he is now the champion of progress and development of 
American interests. He belongs to Castle Post No. 313, G. A. R., 
at Avery, and is a member of tlie Baptist church, while he neglects no 
opportunity to advance the welfare of his community along all lines. 



CI 2 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

especially in educational progressiveness, which is the strongest pillar 
upon which the nation rests. 



JOHN S. SUTCLIFFE. 

Many years have passed since this gentleman arrived in Monroe 
county, and he is therefore numbered among her honored pioneers as 
well as leading citizens. Long since has he passed the psalmist's span 
of three-score years and ten, being now in his eighty-fifth year, and his 
birth occurred in Kentucky. His father, John Sutcliffe, was born in 
England and was a local minister of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
while by trade he was a reed-maker. His wife, who bore the maiden 
name of Mary Lomax, was also a native of England, and their marriage 
was celebrated in Kentucky. She was a daughter of John and Mag- 
dalene (Stelly) Lomax. John Sutclitife and wife became the parents 
of the following children : Frederick, Mary A., Eliza, two who died 
when young, Seneca, Elsie, Julia, John S. and Joseph. In 1855 the 
parents came to Monroe county, Iowa, where they became owners of a 
valuable farm, but subsequently they removed to Fayette county, In- 
diana, from which commonwealth both were called to their final rest, 
the father passing away at the age of sixty-three years. 

John S. Sutcliffe was reared in both Kentucky and Indiana, and 
in early life was taught the trade of reed-making. Since 1855 he has 
been a resident of Iowa, and his first home in this state was a little 
log cabin, which has since given place to a comfortable and commodious 
residence, and he has also erected a good barn, forty by eighty feet, and 
many other necessary farm Iniildings. His landed possessions consist 
of three hundred and twentv acres, where he is engaged in general 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 613 

farming- and stock raising, and on his place is a valuable orchard of 
two acres. For fifty jears Mr. and Mrs. Sutcliffe have traveled life's 
journey together, their nuitual lo\'e and confidence increasing as year 
by year they have together met the joys and sorrows, the adversity and 
prosperity which checker the careers of all. Their marriage was cele- 
brated in Fayette county, Indiana, and she bore the maiden name of 
Mary Jane Robinson, being a daughter of William and Elizabeth 
(Shelly) Robinson and a native of Fayette county. She was the eldest 
of her parents' six children, the others being: John and Franklin, 
deceased; Oscar H., who died in California; Martha Ann, who died 
in Missouri; ami Wash, who passed away in California. The parents 
both died in Cooper county, Missouri. Two children blessed the union 
of Mr. and Mrs. Sutclift'e, but the son William died when only six 
weeks old. 

Their daughter, Mary Elizabeth, was born in Fayette county, In- 
diana, on the _'7th of June, 1S50. and was reared and received her edu- 
cation in Monroe county, Iowa. She was first married to William 
Whitmore, a well known citizen of the county and a soldier of the Civil 
war, he having served in the Thirty-sixth Iowa Volunteer Infantry. 
At his death he left his widow with tlu'ee children : John Oliver, a busi- 
ness man of Brown county, Kansas ; Ellen, the wife of N. Stump and 
the mother of three children — Maud, Charles and Ona; and Minnie 
Jane, who became the wife of Thomas Smith and has two children, 
Florence and Fern Elizabeth. 

On the 17th of October, igoo, Mrs. Whitmore married Adam 
Crawshaw, who was born in Clinton, Iowa, September 12, 1843. His 
father, James Crawshaw, was born in Lancaster county, England, and 
after coming to the United States took up his abode in Rochester, New 



014 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

York. As early as 1837 he took up his abode in Iowa, thus becoming 
one of its earhest pioneers, and liis death occurred in Chnton, this state, 
in 185 1, wlien lie was but thirty-six years of age. His wife, who bore 
the maiden name of Dorothy Dunn, passed awa}- in 1845, leaving one 
son, Adam Crawshaw. James Crawshaw was twice married, and by his 
second union became the father of two children, Alice Ann. the wife 
of ex-Governor Leslie Shaw, and Jane Gulick, of Denison. Iowa. Adam 
Crawshaw proved himself a loyal defender of his country in her time 
of trouble, having for two years served as a soldier in Company G, 
Fourteenth United States Volunteer Infantry, First Brigade, Second 
Division, Fifth Army Corps of the Army of the Potomac. His mili- 
tary services covered a period of two years and nine months, on the 
expiration of which period he received an honorable discharge and 
returned to his home in Iowa. In this state he was united in marriage to 
Mary C. Tony, who bore him three children: James T., a resident of 
Nebraska; Dorothy R., deceased; and O. U., who makes his home 
in Pennsylvania. In 1874 Adam Crawshaw removed to Nebraska, 
where for some years he made his home in York county, but in 1886 
went to Oberlin, Decatur county, Kansas, where in 1900 he held the 
position of census enumerator. For four years he also served as oil 
inspector of Iowa under Governor Shaw. Before reaching his twenty- 
first year, with a soldier's privilege, he supported Lincoln in his race for 
the presidenc}', and has ever continued to give his allegiance to the Re- 
publican party. His services in behalf of the Union during the Civil 
war entitle him to membership in the Grand Army of the Republic. 
where he maintains pleasant relations with his old army comrades of 
the blue. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 615 

JOHN RALSTON. 

In presenting tn uur readers the history of John Ralston we record 
tiie life work of one who has long lieen recognized as a leading, intln- 
ential and respected citizen of Monroe county. He is now living retired 
in Albia, hut for many years was engaged in farming and stock raising 
in Monroe count}-, and in his husiness afifairs his conduct was so straight- 
forward and honorable that his word was recognized as good as any 
bond. Mr. Ralston was born in eastern Ohio on the 15th of August, 
1830, and is a son of James and Martha Ann (Gordon) Ralston, lx)th 
of whom were natives of Scotland. The father spent the first eighteen 
years of his life in the land of the heather, and thence crossed the 
broad Atlantic in a sailing vessel, eventually becoming a resident of 
eastern Ohio. He first settled, however, in Virginia, and from that 
place removed t<> the Buckeye state. His first wife died during the early 
boyhood of her son John, who was the youngest of their three children, 
the others being Andrew and Nettie. After her death James Ralston 
was united in marriage to Elizabeth ]\Iathers, who was born in 1807 
and was a resitlent of Ohio. P'ive children graced this marriage: 
Martha, Samuel, Roliert, James and Maggie. A third time Mr. Ralston 
was married, Miss I\Iary Reed, a native of Penns}-lvania, becoming his 
wife. There was one son by that union, William. For several years 
James Ralston continued to make his home in Ohio, but in the fall of 
i860 he severed his business connections there and came to Iowa, spend- 
ing his last days in Madison county, this state, where he died in 1867 
at the age of eighty years. 

John Ralston spent the years of his minorit)- in (iuernsey county, 
Ohio, and on attaining his majority sought a home in Iowa, for he 
belie\-ed he would ha\e better business opportunities in the western dis- 



016 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

trict, where competition was not so great. Here he took up carpenter- 
ing-, but in his earher years he had taught school in Oliio. In i860 he 
became a resident of Madison county and was living here at the time of 
his enlistment for service in the Civil war. He was in the army the 
last nine months of the long struggle for the preservation of the Union, 
being drafted for ser\ice. after which he became a member of Company 
D, Fifteenth Iowa Infantry. He was with Sherman on the celebrated 
march to the sea, and after the close of hostilities was mustered out 
in Washington, D. C. His brother Robert served throughout the entire 
period of hostilities as a memljer of the Fourth Iowa Cavalry. At the 
close of the war Mr. Ralston returned to his home in Madison county 
and for twenty years was interested in farming and stock raising. In 
1885. however, he took up his abode in Monroe county, settling in 
Alljia, wliere he is now living. However, he spends about six months 
each year upon his farm in Madison county. About six years ago he 
established a tanning factory in Albia, organizing a stock company 
for this purpose, but e\-entually he sold nut and the factory has since 
been moved elsewhere. 

On the 22i\ of November, 1862, Mr. Ralston was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Harriet Bell, a daughter of William and ]\Iary Bell, who 
were natives of Ohio. They became the parents of two children, Mar}' 
and Emma. The wife and mother, however, died in 1890, passing 
away at her home in Albia on the 5th of September of that year, after 
which her remains were interred in the Albia cemetery. 

ilr. Ralston has always had firm faith in Iowa and its future. 
When he came here as a young man he believed that the state was 
entering upon a period of progressive development and was therefore 
anxious to ally his interests with those of the early settlers. Taking 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 017 

advantage of tlie business opportunities, lie steadily worked his way 
upward, brooking no ol)stacles tliat could lie overcome by determination 
and earnest purpose. His life record has at all times been one that 
would bear the closest investigation and scrutiny, and through his well 
directed business affairs he has not only won a competence, but has also 
gained the respect and regard of his fellow-men. 



WILLIAM WILCOX. 

The subject of this sketch is one of the honored veterans of the 
Civil war, having served his country during that struggle as a member 
of Company K, One Hundred and Forty-seventh Indiana Volunteer 
Infantry, under Captain Thomas Kennedy. He was on duty for a 
time at Harper's Ferry, Virginia, and in the Shenandoah valley, and 
remained in the service until hostilities ceased, being honorably dis- 
charged on August 4, 1865. 

Like many of Iowa's best citizens, Mr. Wilcox is a native of Ohio, 
his birth having occurred near Zanesville, in Muskingum county, on 
the i8th of June, 1839. His father, Charles Wilcox, was born in the 
same county and was a son of James Wilcox, a native of New York 
state. The latter was drafted during the war of 1812, but obtained a 
substitute. In the county of his nativity Charles Wilcox grew to man- 
hood and married Miss Nancy Taylor, who was also born there and 
was a daughter of Dr. James Taylor, of Ohio. They continued to 
make their home in that comity throughout life, the mother dying at 
the age of fifty-eight years and the father at the age of eighty-four. 
He was never in but two counties during his entire life and never rode 
on a railroad train. Politicallv he was a Democrat, and religiouslv 



G18 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

was a very active and zealous memljer nf tlie Aletliodist Episcopal 
cliurch. in which he served as class leader for many years. He was a 
very consistent and conscientious Christian gentleman, and was highly 
respected and esteemed hy all who knew him. 

In the family of this worthy couple were ten children, five sons 
and five daughters, namely: James, now deceased: Lavina, who died 
at the age of sixteen years ; Emily, who died at the age of fourteen ; 
John Wesley, who died at the age of twenty-three; George, who died 
in Coshocton county, Ohio, at the age of sixty-eight years; William, 
our subject ; Charles, a resident of ^luskingum county. Ohio, who 
enlisted in 1862 in the Second Ohio Regiment and served two years; 
Mary Jane ^lusk, of Ohio; and Rebecca and Elizabeth, also residents 
of the Buckeye state. 

Under his father's watchful care William \\'ilcr>x was reared to 
habits of thrift and industry, and during much of his youth was en- 
gaged in cutting wood and grubbing stumps that the farm might be 
cultivated. He received a fair education at a time when primitixe meth- 
ods were in use and the teacher boarded around among the scholars. 
On reaching man's estate, he was married in Coshocton county, Ohio, 
to Miss Minerva H. Poland, who prox-ed to him a faithful companion 
and helpmate. She is a native of Coshocton county and a daughter of 
George Poland, who was born in Maryland and died at the home of 
our subject in Iowa at the age of eighty years. He was a farmer by 
occupation, a member of the Baptist church and a Democrat in politi- 
cal sentiment. His wife died in Washington county, Pennsylvania. 
Seven children were born to our subject and his wife, four sons and 
three daughters, as follows : Charles, who now owns and operates a 
good farm of one hundred and fifty acres in Mantua township, Monroe 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 619 

count}-, Iowa; George F. and \\'illis, I)oth at home; Flora, wife of 
Grant Cook, of Mantua townsliip; Clara J., wife of George Cook, of 
Mantua township: M_\rtle Ethel, at home; and \\'alter Scott, who died 
at the age of one year. 

Leaving Ohio in 187 1, Mr. Wilcox came to Iowa, and after spend- 
ing eight years in W'apello county took up his residence in Mantua 
township, Monroe county, where he purchased forty acres of land. To 
the cultivation and improvement of this farm he has since devoted his 
energies. He is a supporter of the Repuhlican party and an honoretl 
memher of Castle Post No. 113, G. A. R., of Avery. His religious 
faith is manifest by his membership in the Methodist Protestant church, 
to which his wife belongs, and he has served as class leader in the same 
for the last twenty-five years. 

THOMAS PULLIAM. 

Thomas Pulliam, one of the old settlers and highly respected citi- 
zens of Sharon township, Appanoose county, was born in Pike county, 
Illinois, on the 26th day of January, 1843, ^"^ is a son of John and 
Rebecca (Likes) Pulliam. His jiaternal grandfather was Thomas 
Pulliam, a native of Kentucky, who removed to Illinois and there spent 
his last days, his death occurring in that state. The father of our sub- 
ject was born in a block-house on the Wabash river in Illinois during 
the pioneer tlevelopnient of the state. The place in which he was born 
had been built for the protection of the settlers against the Indians, 
and all was wild and unimpro\'ed in that region. After arriving at 
years of maturit}- he was married in his native state to Miss Rebecca 
Likes, who was born in Indiana and was a daughter of William Likes, 
a native of Peiuisylvania. Both of the grandfathers of our subject 



620 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

were soldiers in the war of 1812. and removed to Illinois in pioneer 
times, taking an active part in laying broad and deep the foundation 
for the future de\-elopment and progress of the localities with which 
they were associated. After their marriage the parents of our subject 
continued to live in Illinois until March, 1864. when they determined 
to seek a home in Iowa, and settled in Wells township, Appanoose 
county, where both passed away, the mother departing this life about 
1873, while the father survived her for three years and died in 1876, 
at the age of sixty-two years. They were the parents of five sons and 
three daughters, and three of the sons are now deceased. In order to 
support his family the father followed agricultural pursuits throughout 
his entire life, being a progressive and enterprising farmer. In his 
political affiliations he was a Democrat, and in religious faith was a 
Dunkard, while his wife held membership with the Baptist church. 

Tliomas Pulliam was reared upon the home farm and received a 
common school education. He was only eighteen years of age when 
he enlisted for service in the Union army, joining the boys in blue on 
the 14th of August, 1862. He was assigned as a private to Company 
F., One Hundred and Eighteenth Illinois Infantry, and remained with 
that command for more than three years, when he was honorably dis- 
charged, on the 30th of October, 1865. He participated in the Vicks- 
burg campaign, including the siege and capture of the city, and was 
afterward in the battles of Arkansas Post, Port Gibson, Champion Hills, 
Black River and many other engagements. At Black River the com- 
pany was mounted and thereafter was on cavalry duty. Mr. Pulliam 
was ever found to be a loyal soldier, faithful to the old flag and the 
cause it represented. He was always found at his post of duty, whether 
in the midst of battle or upon the tented fields. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. C21 

After the war was over and the country no longer needed his 
services. Mr. Pulhani returned home. He first came to Appanoose 
county in 1865 and remained for a year. He then returned to his native 
state, where he spent two years, and then once more came to Appanoose 
county. Later, however, he removed to Missouri, where he resided for 
ten years, hut since 1882 has made his home continuously in this county, 
following the occupation of farming. He has one hundred and twenty 
acres of land, which he has operated with good success, acquiring a 
comfortable competence, which now enables him to enjoy not only the 
necessities but many of the comforts of life. 

In 1869 Mr. Pulliam was united in marriage to Miss Laura Smith. 
who was born in Ohio, and they have an interesting family of f^ve chil- 
dren: Emma. Charles. Edward. Gertrude and Laura. Mr. Pulliam 
exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of 
the Republican party, but he has never sought or desired office, pre- 
ferring to give his entire time and attention to his business affairs, which 
he hal capably conducted, with the result that he is now a prosperous 
farmer of his adopted county. 

JOHN ABEGGLEN. 
The little republic of Switzerland has sent to America compara- 
tively few of her adopted sons, but those who have come are a valued 
portion of our citizenship. One of these worthy immigrants is John 
Abegglen, who was born to Peter and Maggie Abegglen. His father 
followed farming in one of the beautiful valleys of Switzerland until 
1855, when he brought his family across the Atlantic to America. Pro- 
ceeding into the interior of the country, he took up hh abode in Ripley 



G22 BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 

county, Indiana, where he remained until 1869, and then came to 
Monroe county, Iowa. For the next twenty-four years he was one of 
the respected residents of this vicinity, and in 1893 his hfe came to a 
peaceful end, when he was eighty-two years of age; his wife is also de- 
ceased. Both were devout and consistent members of the Lutheran 
church and impressed upon the minds of their children lessons which 
have ]>orne fruit in upright lives. This worthy couple were the parents 
of the following children: Crist, Margaret and Gottlieb, deceased; 
John; Elizabeth, also deceased; and Fred and Anna, both residents of 
Monroe county. 

John Abegglen was born in Switzerland November 27, 1840, and 
was a youth of fifteen when he came with his parents to the new world. 
All the educational ad\-antages he was privileged to enjoy were obtained 
before he left his native land. He accompanied his parents to Iowa 
and has since Ijeen one of the prominent agriculturists of this great state. 
Shortly after his second marriage he took up his residence on his present 
farm just east of Lovilia, and in the course of the nearly ten years spent 
on the place has made his property both valuable and attractive. Excel- 
lent improvements are found on the farm, and everything is kept in the 
best of order and system. 

In 1865 Mr. Abegglen returned to Switzerland on a visit, which 
ended in a practical romance for him, inasmuch as he met Miss Margaret 
Michalo, with the result that she accompanied him to the United States, 
wdiere they were married in 1866. Their domestic life was begun on a 
farm in Cedar township, Monroe county, where they remained during 
the lifetime of Mrs. Abegglen. They enjoyed eighteen years of wedded 
life, but in 1884 Mrs. Abegglen was called to her final rest. The chil- 
dren born of this marriage were John, Charles, Anna, George, Walter 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 623 

and Sliermaii, who are all living; and those deceased are Willie, George 
and Jennie. Ten j-ears after the death of his first wife Mr. Abegglen 
married Miss Jennie Rose, a daughter of Edward and Phrela Rose. 
For a quarter of a century Mr. Abegglen has been an exemplary mem- 
ber of the Masonic fraternity, and his political support is given to the 
Repul)lican part}-. Both he and his wife are members of the Lutheran 
church, but as there is no congregation of that denomination in the 
vicinity, they attend the services of the Methodist Episcopal church. 



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